


Anathema

by Firefury_Amahira



Series: The Ultimate Saga [2]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst, Dark, Dark Comedy, Episode: s02e08-09 The Ultimate Enemy, Gen, Gore, Tragedy, Violence, hate!ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 22:57:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 66,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7733062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firefury_Amahira/pseuds/Firefury_Amahira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny Fenton lost everything in that explosion, his family, all of his friends save for one; and that one rejected him at his most vulnerable. What else could he do but run? Run and try to bury the past, bury the pain, bury those memories, and bury the traitor that drove him screaming into the waiting arms of madness. </p><p>What happens when you push a hero past the breaking point? This.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue- Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. Butch Hartman does. I would never dream of making money off his work, this is but one fanatic's homage. So please don't sic the rabid lawyer hordes upon me, there's not much for them to sue out of me.
> 
> This was originally posted to my FFN account almost a decade ago, the second story in what would later become a trilogy-in-four-parts that I am finally bringing over to AO3. This iteration of "the saga" (I really do need to come up with a proper name for the entire collection) is mostly unaltered from the original, save for typo and formatting fixes that slipped through in the original FFN run.

**Prologue- Darkness**

            Here I wait, here I stew, trapped in this cramped blackness. I've given up on breaking free... for now. If I wasn't already certifiably insane, this silent blackness I'm trapped in would have done the trick nicely. Adding insult to injury, this damnable thermos is in the care of Clockwork, so I doubt it will see daylight again no thanks to that meddling fool.

            But still, I won. All I had to do was run the clock down, stall that pathetic _child_ until the explosion, and I did. I may have been beaten, but he was too weakened to do anything about the explosion. His future is sealed; the only thing changed is that he'll be able to destroy Amity Park so much the sooner. It will take him only a few months to accomplish what it took me ten years to do, that massive shield won't stop his attack for years like it did mine.

            "I'm sure you're quite pleased with yourself. But I wouldn't be so confident." Clockwork's voice. The ghost was addressing me, trapped as I am. "Everything happened the way I planned it, Danny Fenton will not turn evil."

            I stewed on the time master's statement, raging uselessly against the walls keeping me trapped, rendering my strength all but useless. "You saved them." I had to raise my voice to be heard through the thermos, but Clockwork obviously had no trouble hearing me.

            "Mm. Yes, but you would have lost anyway." Clockwork's voice held not even a trace of smugness, just an infuriating knowing patience. "Your past self was running right into the explosion at the end despite being powerless, whereas _you_ simply stood and watched them die.  _He_ chose well."

            I remained silent, furious. It was impossible, he still must become evil; after all, I exist! He must still become me, somehow! I heard the time master chuckle, obviously well aware of my rage.

            "Don't worry. Time works in interesting ways to prevent paradox. _Your_ past is unchanged. _His_ has changed. Like the forks of a river, your past goes on as you remember it. His has diverged, taking a new route, to a new future." I heard Clockwork chuckle again, and direly wanted out if only to pound the ghost like I had so many others before. I raged uselessly against my prison but got nowhere with it.

            "I'm sure you'll put your _time_ in there to good use and consider what you've done." Clockwork chuckled again at his lousy pun, and left me to brood in silence.

            Who am I? Hah, so many names are part of me now; take your pick. I seldom bother with names now, but if I must select a moniker... Daniel, Dan for short. Dan Plasmius if I want to be particularly clever. After all, it still fits the nested DP emblem on my suit, and it's true enough, since I am partly both Danny Phantom and Vlad Plasmius at once. Though I've been called plenty of other names, most of them by Valerie.

            Funny that. While the explosion set things in motion that led to my existence, it's probably far more accurate to say that _she's_ the one that truly set my course.


	2. Fenton

**Fenton  
**

            My story begins before I came into my current existence. The first deaths that I witnessed, and while I was at fault, I didn't have to lift a finger. I'll never forget that day, the rush of the heat as the explosion sent my stunned body flying backwards, the smell of burning wood and flesh, overlaid with the oddly sweet scent of burning Nasty Sauce. The blast, the shockwave ripping my anguished cry from my lips. They were all in there, killed so quickly that I only briefly heard a scream from her... from Sam.

            Just like that, they were all gone. _Dead._ Mom, Dad, my nosy older sister Jazz, and my two best friends, Sam and Tucker. Oh, and Mr. Lancer, but I can hardly say that the fat teacher would be missed. All consumed by a massive fireball of violently explosive sauce. That left me, the final Fenton, the only survivor, the only witness to the tragedy. Such was the reward for my actions, using my ghost powers to filch the answers to that pointless Career Aptitude Test. I find it terribly amusing, really. That test _did_ determine my future after a fashion.

            I recall being terribly upset that night, after the police investigation, after being questioned as to what had happened. An endless flow of tears, wandering aimlessly through the house, listening with half an ear to the silence that I broke periodically with tormented wailing. I remember that night being terribly long and terribly lonely in the mostly darkened FentonWorks, roaming in the dark like a lost ghost. Yes, I _did_ just make that joke. I spent several of those dark hours down in my parents' lab, contemplating the wide variety of painful ghost hunting weapons they had built, staring at the portal that started it all.

            If I hadn't wandered into that portal, if I hadn't pushed that button, none of this could have happened. I wouldn't have been a half ghost, I wouldn't have been able to cheat on the exam, and the Nasty Burger wouldn't have exploded. Unable to stand the familiar sight, I spent the rest of the night roaming aimlessly over the rooftops of Amity Park. I was weak then, and trying _so_ hard to get away from the maddening guilt that plagued me.

            For lack of anything else to do, I did go to school the next day, exhausted with useless grief and from lack of sleep. I didn't even bother to change out of my filthy soot-smeared clothes, I ignored the odd looks and quiet whispering. Of course the explosion had made the news, everyone had heard about it, and those stupid school faculty members had decided to cancel class so that the students could talk to grief counselors and such. What a waste of time.

            On my way to my locker, I passed _her_. Valerie Grey. Generally a nice enough girl when she wasn't trying to _kill_ me. I ignored her, opening my locker while trying not to look at the picture taped up inside. Me, Sam, and Tucker, carefree and smiling. I heard her come up behind me quietly.

            "Danny, you okay?" She asked softly. What a stupid question! Everyone I cared about had just been turned into so much charcoal the day before, but no, I was just _fine_!

            "No." Was the only response I could marshal myself to utter, my throat tight from my grief.

            To my mild surprise, she put her arms around me in a tight hug, full of concern for me, for the ghost she was always trying to shoot down. "I know it's got to be hard, Danny. If there's anything I can do, you just have to ask, okay?"

            I froze as a thought hit me while I stood there in Valerie's arms. I couldn't go on like this, all alone and carrying the burden of my secret. Sam and Tucker had always been there to help support me, and without them I was alone with my secrets and my guilt. "Valerie-? Could you... um... would you meet me after school at the park?" My throat hurt as I stammered out the words, deciding it was time Valerie knew the truth. I _did_ like her, she seemed to like me, aside from the thing about ghosts. I should have known better, that the little witch would betray my feelings, but I was weak and stupid, and thought I could trust her. "There's something... important, I need to tell you- I mean, show you... ur... well..."

            She smiled at me, her expression full of sympathy. "I'll be there." She said simply as we disentangled.

            "Thanks, Val." I whispered, anxious to be away from the school. I ducked into the boys' bathroom, checking around briefly to make sure I was alone before I transformed, the ghostly chill no longer carrying the sort of refreshing thrill it used to. I was full of grief, guilt, and now anxiety. I didn't know then how Valerie would react to learning I was the ghost kid she'd been trying to destroy for the past few months, so I was worried it would go badly. I had a few hours to fly around invisible before locating the area in the park where I would introduce her to my alter-ego, when she would meet Danny Phantom and know him for who he really was. Once I found the place, I returned to the house and finally cleaned myself up. I found myself staring long and hard at the black grit that I scrubbed out of my hair, the ash and bits of unidentifiable debris that had been blown everywhere.

            When I returned to the park to wait for Valerie, I was presentable, wearing a clean shirt and pair of jeans, my hair brushed into its usual mop. I still felt terrible, but at least I was clean. I didn't have to wait long before she found me, sitting limply, my back against the side of one of the fountains.

            "Sorry if you were waiting. What did you want to tell-" She apologized as she joined me.

            "Follow me." I interrupted her, getting quickly to my feet, setting a brisk pace for the secluded area I'd scouted out earlier. She hurried to follow, her expression confused and concerned. I felt my trepidation building with every step closer to that shrouded area, each step closer to my confession. I was an idiot then, clinging to the fool's hope that she would be understanding, a poor replacement to fill the void left by Sam and Tucker. We stopped once we got to the hidden grove, and I turned to look her in the eyes, hoping to find some indication of how she might react. "Val, before I tell you... you've gotta promise me you'll let me finish. Please, don't freak out on me, please..."

            She grabbed my shoulders and gave me a good shake as my voice cracked on my plea. "Danny, calm down! Relax. Whatever it is, I swear I won't freak out or anything. We're friends, right?"

            Trying to fight down a sense of panic, I took several deep breaths, forcing myself to calm down, if not to relax. Once I felt I could continue, I stepped away from Valerie, took one more deep breath to steady myself, and I began. "Okay. Y'know how my parents are...were-" I choked then on the correction. Mom and Dad were gone, dead, past tense.

            "Danny... I'm sorry." Valerie gave me a reassuring hug at my distress. "It's okay to cry."

            "You don't understand!" I jumped away from her as if I'd been burned, or maybe shot by an ecto-gun. "It was my fault! I couldn't-" I stopped then. How could she possibly have known how much I blamed myself for that beautiful explosion? For those deaths? I struggled to keep from bursting into tears, but the things slipped free despite my efforts, though I did slowly recover most of my composure. "They hunted ghosts."

            She nodded quietly, and I continued. "You've seen the portal they built. But it... it didn't quite work at first. There was an accident-"

            "An accident? What accident?" She interrupted, surprise in her voice, and concern. It was strange, explaining my transformation. I never had before. Sam and Tucker had seen it happen, and I hadn't told anyone about it.

            "They gave up on it. But Sam-" Ah, Sam. Beautiful, dark, independent, _dead_ Sam. "-she and Tucker talked me into taking a look inside it, to see if maybe we could make it work. So I put on one of the hazmat suits... safety first, and went in. While I was poking around in it... I accidentally hit a button. I don't really remember what exactly happened."

            Valerie stared at me, worry plain on her face. It's true though, despite everything, my memory of the accident is fuzzy at best. All I can remember, both of my accident and dim impressions from Plasmius' own accident are fleeting sensations and images. Bright light, blindingly green, a coldness that threatened to burn everything it touched, a feeling like the worst shock of electricity ever conceived, surrounding the most excruciating agony possible. Death itself was probably more pleasant than that. "There was a bright light, and it hurt... I thought I was gonna die. I thought I had at first... Oh please, Valerie, don't hate me for this, please-"

            Valerie continued to stare as I got one more good look at her, my eyes glowing green already from my agitation as I stood in the familiar stance and uttered in a pathetic voice my old battle cry. "I'm going ghost!"

            Her jaw hung wide open as the familiar energy rings scanned the length of my body, changing me from my weak human form to my more powerful ghost form. I stood there, watching her closely, glowing green eyes locked onto her grey-green ones, which were growing impressively wide with her shock. A flurry of emotions flew across her face. Shock, confusion, fear, and then the one I should have seen coming before she pulled out her weapons and activated her suit and jet sled, pointing the weapons at me, anger clear in her voice. "It was **your** fault! YOU did this!"

            "Valerie-" I yelped, cowering away from her as the weapon charged. She didn't let me finish my plea.

            "You LIED to me, ghost! You ruined my life, you lied to me, you USED me!" She shrieked, firing wildly at me. I ducked and dodged through the storm of pink blasts, frightened and betrayed. Really, I should have _known_ she would react like that and betray my trust. But then, I was a sappy idiot those days. I know better _now_.

            "Valerie, you promised-!" I yelped uselessly, as if her worthless promise would make her stop her attack. She gave chase as I ran and then flew away, trying to get away from her, and feeling absolutely alone, heartbroken. I'd staked everything on that silly confession, and she'd thrown it in my face along with every ghost hunting weapon she had on her person at the time.

            She chased me for several miles above the rooftops of the city, throwing shots and accusations about what I had done. The blasts I was able to dodge easily enough- she was so rattled by my confession that her aim was worse than normal, but her accusations hit every time. I knew I could no longer stay, the girl was hell-bent on killing me. Now that she knew my true identity, I wasn't safe. I didn't know at that moment where I was going to go, but I knew I had to leave.

            Valerie was gaining on me, her shots starting to get uncomfortably accurate. I couldn't bring myself to return fire then, though I really ought to have. It would have saved me a great deal of trouble in later years. Instead, I shed useless tears as I poured on the speed, trying to lose her. Finally, I pulled a trick I hadn't used much, a sort of short-range teleport to throw her off my trail. Hey, it worked against Tucker, why wouldn't it work against her?

            I retreated to the temporary safety of FentonWorks... funny that I couldn't think of it anymore as "home", isn't it? I spent the better part of that evening cowering in my room, the lights all turned off, contemplating my options. The dark didn't bother me much, really. In ghost form, I could see well enough in the dark not to kill myself on the household clutter. I couldn't stay in Amity Park, but where _could_ I run to? Who could hope to understand the multitude of twists and secrets of my existence?

            I slumped as the only plausible option my fourteen year old brain could conceive of hit me. I didn't like it, but I had little choice, no where else to turn. Besides, with both my parents dead, there wasn't much left to fight over with that cheesehead. I spent the better part of that night packing my things before I could steel myself to pick up the phone and make the call I was loathe to make.

            The phone rang several times before it was finally picked up, the voice on the other end sounding groggy and terribly annoyed. "Who do you think you are, calling me at this hour-"

            "Vlad." I interrupted the irked billionaire, my voice flat with the sorrow I felt then.

            "Daniel? Is that you?" In an instant the man's tone changed from irate to a sort of sly surprise. "Whatever are you calling _me_ for, my boy? And in the middle of the night, no less?"

            I felt myself rebelling against what I was about to ask of the man, hating the idea. "Look, I'll get straight to the point, Plasmius." I couldn't even marshal the distaste to snap out the name of Vlad's alter-ego. I slumped further, my tone horribly pathetic. "Look... can I... stay with you?"

            There was silence on the phone line for a full minute before Vlad managed to respond. "Stay with me? I saw the news but..." Somehow the cheesehead managed to sound giddy and depressed all at once. "You want to come _here_? To Wisconsin?"

            "Yes."

            "I shall send someone to fetch you and your belongings right away." Vlad declared. After a brief pause, he added, sounding truly sympathetic. "I'm sorry about what happened, Daniel. Truly, I am. Your mother will be dearly missed."

            "I'll see you later then." I hung up the phone and sat in the darkness of the deserted kitchen, rocking back and forth.

            I was going to move in with my arch-enemy.


	3. Masters

**Masters**

            It's hard to describe my recollection of events after my arrival in Wisconsin. After all, my memory of that nine day span comes from two different points of view. The predominant recollection is that from Danny Fenton, but I also clearly recall many things of that time from Vlad Masters. Were I ever to try and explain it to someone, I imagine the tale would get quite confusing.

            I- and for the moment I mean I as in Vlad Masters- spent a great deal of time pacing the empty halls of my castle. It took Daniel four days to get to Wisconsin from Amity Park, and I was frankly unsure what to do with the boy. I mourned the death of Maddie as I would my own wife, and you can just imagine how strange it is _now_ to think of the woman with the combined memory of the slender ghost hunter as both my mother _and_ object of desire. But I digress. To say that the arrangement would be uncomfortable would be an understatement.

            I- and I mean I as in Danny Fenton- spent the four day road trip much as I had the that first day after the explosion, moping and oozing depression, unutterably useless with grief. I was also wondering what I would do in Wisconsin. After all, I had three more years of high school to go, and college as well. At least, if I wanted to be an astronaut. The future loomed dark and lonely, and I had hard decisions to make that I didn't want to. I think I found a rather more enjoyable "career" in the long run however. Pure catharsis, the "job" I would ultimately take upon myself.

            When I finally arrived with my luggage and belongings, Vlad was on the steps waiting for me. How strange, to be face-to-face with my greatest enemy, with no witnesses, and no shots being fired. Were I not so weak then, I could have been rid of my arch-enemy. But no, I accepted the billionaire's shoddy attempt at consolation as he helped me bring my things inside.

            While leading the young hybrid to his new room- mind you, this is Vlad's memory of the meeting now- I tried to think of something to say, failing miserably. The boy was the single greatest obstacle to my plans, plans that had ended in a fireball of burger sauce. I could no longer ruin Jack, in a way it was almost like he was still mocking me: he denied me even _that_ satisfaction. And Maddie was likewise beyond my reach, leaving only this fourteen-year-old half-ghost reminder of what she and Jack had that I did not. But despite the boy being terribly vulnerable, having no drive to retaliate, I couldn't bring myself to get him out of my way permanently. In the past, I didn't really want to destroy him, but he was resolute in standing against me and my plans.

            But there we were, two human-ghost hybrids in a castle in Wisconsin, with only the awkward silence of shared grief for companions. Honestly, Daniel looked little better than death warmed over, all his spunk gone, lost in that sea of guilt. I recall Vlad didn't feel much better than my younger half looked. We unpacked the boxes in silence aside from brief questions as to where to put something and equally brief answers to those questions. I figured that this arrangement could not continue like this, and forced a conversation over dinner that evening.

            "So, what prompted the decision to come here, my boy?" I asked Daniel over pancakes that night. Yes, _pancakes_. It was either that or instant noodles, given that I wasn't much of a cook.

            I slumped in my seat, slowly shredding the food on my plate absently- Danny's recollection here. "There wasn't anywhere else."

            Obviously Daniel wasn't going to be terribly talkative, so I pressed the subject. "Mm-hmm, yes, I _am_ the only person left besides you that knows anything about ghost hybrids. But that doesn't explain why you wanted to leave Amity Park."

            My memory obviously blurs between the two different points of view, but it's a coherent enough recollection of events leading to my current existence.

            I murmured something so quiet that my older half had to lean over, and still couldn't clearly hear what was said.

            "Speak _up_ , Daniel." I declared, exasperated.

            "Valerie knows." I replied, still softly, but just loud enough for my other half to hear.

            "You _told_ her about hybrids?" I demanded, both eyebrows furrowed with concern. I didn't care if Daniel blew his own identity, but there would be serious repercussions of my secret getting out.

            I slunk down in my chair and away from Vlad's accusing stare. "She only knows about me." I flinched at the memory of how that annoying girl had reacted. "She hates my guts."

            I watched Daniel slide down further in his seat. Yes, that _did_ sound rather like how the girl would react. Small wonder then that he had wanted to leave his hometown. Valerie was _extremely_ dedicated to hunting ghosts, after all.

            While I wished I could just disappear, Vlad eyed me with a slightly knowing nod. He was obviously pleased that his identity was still safe. "She tried to shoot me. She blamed me for...." I whimpered. "It _is_ my fault."

            I raised an eyebrow at Daniel's increased agitation. "What is your fault, my boy?" He tensed up, slamming one abruptly white-clad fist on the table.

            "Everything!" I yowled, going ghost without really thinking about it. Vlad took a step back in surprise, changing to his ghost form in case I got violent. Ah, I was so emotional then, so prone to such juvenile outbursts. "None of this would have happened if I hadn't cheated on that test!"

            I watched the younger hybrid, one eyebrow raised. Daniel had actually used his powers for a less-than-noble cause? Were the circumstances different, I would have made some crass remark about how _good_ it feels to use ghost powers for personal gain. "You cheated on an exam? How... uncharacteristic of you, Daniel. So tell me, how is this test responsible for what happened?"

            "Lancer found out!" I shouted, slamming my fist into the table hard enough to crack the wooden surface while Vlad watched me impassively. "He called my parents about it! He told them to come to the Nasty Burger, and Sam and Tucker came with me! Then... then..." I slumped against the battered table, unable to say it.

            "Then there was the explosion, and everyone except you was killed by the blast." I finished for the boy, frowning as I pictured briefly how horrible it had to be for Maddie in those last moments in that inferno. Figuring Daniel wasn't going to attack me, I changed back to my human form and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Come now, you must be exhausted after all that."

            I was too emotionally spent to argue, letting the billionaire lead me to my room. My quarters, more like it. I had an entire suite of rooms for my own, probably covering more floor space than my parents' entire basement lab. Vlad helped me sit down on the giant feather bed, suggesting I turn human again, take a hot shower, and get some sleep. I  staggered half-dazed to the bathroom, the billionaire watching me with a genuinely concerned expression on his face. Funny to think that the cheesehead was capable of caring about anything other than himself.

            I watched Daniel stagger right _through_ the closed door to his personal restroom, and retreated to my private study as I heard the shower come on. I hadn't felt worried like this since my college days, when I first realized the implications of what Jack had done to me. The boy couldn't go on like this, that much was obvious. Maddie would be upset if she knew how bad off her son was. I mused on the situation while my younger half absently slipped out of his hazmat suit to shower.

            Perhaps I was just sluggish or lazy in my emotional state, but I didn't bother turning back to human form before I climbed into the well-appointed shower, letting the hot water run down my spectral form. I was just a lost little boy with freakish powers that had cost me quite dearly. Had I but known the absolute freedom such powers could bring-! Instead, I stared blankly as the water flattened my white bangs against my face, partly obscuring my vision. In the low lighting of the shower, the water reflected the faint green shine from my eyes as I hovered there, in a strangely numb state after my outburst and confession of guilt. I couldn't function like this, a hero in too much shock and guilt to do anything. I couldn't help my family, so how could I possibly help anyone else? They were lost amid the water cascading from the shower head, but I know more of those useless tears slipped free.

            I paced in my study, considering the situation. I was frankly worried that Daniel would simply not recover from the tragedy and the psychological blow Valerie had given him. The boy would either go through the rest of his life as a depressed shell of what he had been, or... I didn't like the thought, but I would not have been as successful as I was if I did not account for every possibility. Daniel's grief was holding him down, while his guilt kept a firm grip, preventing him from coming to terms with events. As I mused on the situation, a thought occurred to me, one that might solve the boy's problems, or at least provide a way to improve his situation. His powers were the source of his troubles; perhaps using one of the devices I had built, I could separate Daniel's ghost self from his human self, hopefully freeing the boy to begin the normal grieving process. I was not sure what I would do with his ghost self, but I was certain I would be able to handle it. I decided I would make the suggestion to Daniel after the boy had a few days to settle in to his new home.

            I finally reverted to my human form as I tugged on my pajamas and climbed into bed, feeling so _terribly_ alone in that huge castle. I lay there in the dark for several hours, curled up into a tight little ball of sorrow wearing rocketship pajamas. Horribly tacky things, no less. At least Vlad wasn't trying to convert me to his twisted ideology. In his own sly sort of way, the cheesehead was _trying_ to be something other than a crazed up fruit loop. It was nearly dawn when I finally nodded off and dreamt red dreams where I was useless, a failure.

            The next two days passed quietly, we didn't interact much. My younger half was too busy wallowing in pathetic misery, while my older half seemed preoccupied, lost in some scheme. It was the morning of the third day that I finally felt it was time to voice my proposal to Daniel.

            "Daniel, might I make a suggestion?" I addressed my younger half over a bowl of soggy cereal.

            "What is it, Vlad?" I replied in a flat tone, not meeting the billionaire's gaze.

            "These painful emotions are tearing you apart, my boy." I raised an eyebrow, studying Daniel's rumpled clothes and unkempt hair. "You simply can't keep on like this."

            I shrugged, half-lidded eyes barely taking note of Vlad. "I dunno what I'm going to do."

            "What would you say if I told you I could make the hurt just go away? No more grief, no more guilt, you could have a _normal_ life." I  studied the boy closely as I made the pitch. Startled, his hazy blue eyes finally met mine.

            "Wh-what do you mean you can make it go away?" I stammered, a brief flicker of my old animosity toward the billionaire coming briefly back to me. Surely this had to be some evil plot! I looked at Vlad's expression, but found no trace of his usual cruel smirk.

            "I mean exactly that, Daniel." I crossed my arms as I explained to the baffled boy. "It would be an operation, slightly risky of course. Using the equipment in my lab, I am fairly certain I could _remove_ your ghost half. No more powers, no more of the guilt that goes with it. What do you say, hmm?"

            I frowned, considering the billionaire's offer. I had been separated from my ghost self once before, and the experience had been quite bizarre. My ghost self had gone off on a heroic kick, while I had actually enjoyed a _normal_ weekend with Sam and Tucker, free of responsibilities, free to enjoy life. Well, aside from that business with stopping Technus, at any rate. Vlad sat there waiting patiently for my answer as I considered the implications. I _was_ desperate to be free of those useless emotions, sorrow and shame that were threatening to drive me over the brink.

            "You don't have to answer immediately." I got up. "Think about it, take your time. I'm sure it is a difficult decision, not to be taken lightly."

            I excused myself, returning to my lab to do some work. Just because Jack was dead and my rivalry with Daniel was effectively ended did not mean I was lacking on schemes to implement. I had a multi-billion dollar business empire to run, after all. I hoped the boy would agree to this drastic solution, but I resolved to myself that if he did not agree, I would not force it upon him. Who knew that my older half could be such a sap?

            After the billionaire left, I spent the better part of the day roaming aimlessly as I thought about it. I ended up changing to my ghost form and spending several hours flying over the wilderness that surrounded the massive estate. The chill wind in my face was refreshing as I caught sight of a clearing not far from the manor. I was leaning in favor of the operation, and was starting to figure that this was my final flight. I spiraled to a silent landing in the clearing, perching atop an odd little natural rock formation as I watched the sun sink lower into the sky. The thought of being able to move on from my grief seemed utterly alien at the time, but I knew I could not carry on the way I had been forever. As the sun finally set at the end of that long day, I came to my decision, kicking into the air off the boulders and returning to the castle.

            Daniel was a bit late, it was getting dark out when I finally found him walking into the kitchen. Or rather, flying in as he came through the wall and changed back to normal. The boy still looked awful, but there was something in the way he was carrying himself that indicated to me that he had come to a decision, and was perhaps starting to feel better about the idea as a whole.

            "Vlad." I addressed the older hybrid, taking a deep breath as I told him what I had decided out there in that little wooden clearing. "I'll do it."


	4. Murder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to sugarcoat it. This is the chapter that pushes the "T" rating right up to the brink of "M." Those who are faint of stomach, you are warned!

**Murder**

            It was settled. The operation would take place the very next day, and I would be free of my pain. Amusingly, that _was_ the end result, though I rather think not in the way either my useless human self nor the cheesehead had anticipated. My younger half slept soundly that night, a deep dreamless sleep of exhaustion. My older half in contrast slept fitfully, concerned over the operation he would be performing.

            Much of my recollection of the morning of the operation comes from Plasmius. My younger half was so groggy that day that his recollection is not nearly as clear for me now. With great care I led Daniel to the lab and got him belted down to the operating table. He offered no resistance as the anesthesia took hold, rendering him unconscious. So vulnerable, it would have been so simple to end him then and there... but no. My older half did have some honor left to him, and simply prepared the Ghost Gauntlets, tugging a surgeon's mask into place as he prepared to rip me free of my human half.

            My younger half was unconscious, at least his useless humanity was. I was immediately aware of the intrusion when those talons dug into me, a flash of white-hot pain in the black emptiness of unconsciousness. How shall I describe the pain? Twin rows of needles digging into me, a sensation I can only describe as being ripped in half. This was far beyond the mere momentary discomfort of passing through my parents' Ghost Catcher. Then all at once I was aware of my surroundings, though I was horribly disoriented. All I was aware of was the pain, intense and crippling in my chest, and that my archenemy Vlad was the one responsible for my agony. My enemy.

            Of course, most people when in danger choose to flee, as weak humans are not made for fighting, certainly not when injured. But I was stupid then, so conditioned to fighting when attacked from my months of fighting ghosts and wasting my efforts protecting people. I did not realize in that instant, as I was rather preoccupied with the claws buried in my body, but I did not feel the grief and guilt anymore. I was angry, and focused all my strength on the source of my pain. With a growl, I grabbed Vlad's wrists and flung him away, biting back a cry as the claws tore out of me, leaving terrible brilliant green gouges cut into my chest. My archrival was so surprised that he bodily slammed into the wall, clearly stunned, the breath knocked out of him from the impact.

            My older half was indeed quite surprised by the unexpected violence from Daniel's ghost half. I slammed into the wall, the impact knocking the breath from my lungs and leaving me momentarily helpless, the gauntlets flying from my hands and falling to the floor with a metallic clatter. Too dazed still to think of turning into my ghost form and defending myself, all I could do was stare up at Daniel's ghost half, at the intense expression of anger on his face.

            My younger half floated there, weakened from the operation, but direly ready to fight, to lash out. I had to stop Vlad, my rival and mortal enemy. And there he sat, stunned and momentarily helpless, an opportunity I would be a fool to waste. I was angry indeed. Angry at Vlad for this newest cruelty against me, and angry at myself, for having caused the deaths of those I had cared about. With the grief gone, it left a void that I quickly replaced with anger, with hate, a torrent for which Vlad made himself the prime target. My human self had been so weak, so _useless_. I knew I was weak myself as I grabbed the fallen gauntlets. Well, I would soon even the odds as I roughly grabbed the stunned billionaire, grinning with a sort of eager delight at finally having the upper hand against my nemesis.

            My older half offered no resistance when my younger half took hold of me, hefting me limply into the air with disconcerting ease, the claws on the Ghost Gauntlets digging painfully into me. Like a sheet of paper, I was torn in half, his right hand releasing me with impressive momentum. I slammed into the wall a second time, barely feeling my cloak settle about my shoulders, nearly unconscious from the sheer torture of being so violently torn from my human self. I'm positive that my human half was likely in worse condition than I was, I heard him slam into the wall with a yelp across the room from where I had fallen.

            Ah, and then! My younger half knew that my older half would likely recover quickly, and that momentary weakness, that narrow window of opportunity would soon pass. I certainly cannot be accused of thinking too much about anything then, and I had the crazy notion that perhaps I could overshadow Plasmius and stop the older ghost from being able to fight. Well, I never _was_ terribly good at math, and certainly did not consider what would happen when two halves were forced together.

            Words fail me to describe that instant, the moment I came into my current existence. Neither the sharp wit of my younger half nor the vast intellect of my older half have the words to do that instant justice. Power, a hot searing burst of pure energy tore through my combining form, a rush of heat that at that moment I thought would consume me whole and leave nothing but ash. It was painful of course, every fiber of my joining being bursting with agony that made the injuries I'd sustained from the gauntlets just prior seem as nothing in comparison. I know I screamed out my pain, the long cry lost amid the pounding in my ears. At some point I sprang into the air, desperately trying to find some relief from the heat and pain.

            Above and beyond the physical sensation was the incredible mental sensation, a dizzying rush of information. Alien thoughts and feelings clashing, a million miniature battles in my tattered mind. The physical joining was completed long before the mental one. I fell dazed and half-stupid to the ground, thrashing as I tried so desperately to make a coherent sense of two radically different sets of memory. I was dimly aware of a clatter, likely Vlad Masters scrambling to tend to my useless human half.

            Even when I finally came to myself, I was still stunned and horribly dazed and I lay still where I had fallen, staring blankly up at the ceiling overhead. Beyond my field of vision, I heard my human self groan as he awoke, and soon heard the beginning of an argument.

            "Wh-what did you do?!"

            "I did nothing beyond what I promised I would, boy!"

            "That's not right, that's not what my ghost half looks-"

            "Yes, I am _well_ aware of that Daniel, would you care to explain why it would attack me?"

            "What?"

            I growled, finding myself becoming quite annoyed at the bickering, but my body refused to respond to my commands just yet. The sound brought the two humans to silence however, both staring at me with mixed expressions of fear and confusion. What _were_ they staring at? Oh, that's right, _me_. My anger rising, I finally was able to stagger upright, glowering at the both of them. Vlad Masters was gawking at me, I could tell the man was quivering, whether from fear or simple exhaustion I'm not sure, nor do I particularly care. Danny stared, the boy's expression largely unreadable, confusion, fear, panic, a dozen other emotions flying across his face.

            I stared down the two humans, realizing to myself after a long internal dialogue that I disliked them _both_. Vlad had constantly made my life miserable, his schemes making things difficult, the billionaire always looking for how he could benefit from any given situation. Danny... well, he was weak. Pathetic even, unable to give Vlad a decent fight, and useless on top of it all. He was the reason my friends and family were dead, the reason I had just gone through such horrible pain. I hated them both to be certain, but Danny had a special place of loathing. Always getting in my way, always holding me back.

            "Stay back, Daniel." Vlad stepped protectively between me and the boy. Ha, what could he do, powerless as he now was?

            I stared Vlad down, obviously the man was weighing his options, uncertain what I would do. I considered my options, still fighting off the lingering daze from the fusion. With the power I knew I had come to possess, I could likely do things that my rival could only dream of. I could _destroy_ him. I found the thought immensely pleasing. I had no control over the fate of my family and friends, but now, I could control the fates of dozens of people. The lives of the two people before me were in my hands, to do with as I wished. I smirked, feeling my new fangs brush past my lower lip as I smiled slightly.

            "Out of the way, old man." I raised one hand toward Vlad, watching with smug satisfaction as the cheesehead was sent flying across the room by the blast with a cry. I found the clatter of equipment falling over quite pleasing. Danny yelped as he was struck by the splash damage from my attack, marring his jeans and t-shirt..

            "Get back-!" Danny yelped, backing away from me.

            "Or else what?" I sneered. "What can _you_ do? You're useless, a waste of time. You can't do _anything_."

            "I can too-!" Danny protested, sliding uncertainly into a fighting stance, the same stance I had assumed a hundred times before. "I'm-"

            I laughed as the realization hit him, along with my fist. He had clearly been thinking he could just "go ghost" and take me on, forgetting momentarily that **I** _was_ his ghost half and **he** was powerless. Useless and stupid child that he was, he thought he could fight me, fight himself, his better half. Danny hit the wall with a pained yelp, his body splayed flat against the wall for a moment before he slid to the floor.

            "You're what? _Going ghost_?" I laughed once, the sound harsh even to me. "What could you possibly do? You can't save anyone. You couldn't save Tucker, you couldn't save Jazz, you couldn't save Dad, and you couldn't save _Sam_ OR _Maddie_." I hissed, taking a step toward Danny, feeling my hate for the boy rising.

            Perhaps out of terror, or maybe guilt, Danny huddled where I had punched him, quaking at my approach. I stared down at him, momentarily torn as I lowered my fists. Did I _really_ want to go through with this? I had never once murdered someone, tempting though the idea was at times. Surely this had to be some horribly twisted form of self-loathing? There he was, so helpless, so scared. He was a weakness, he was what held me back from realizing my potential. I snarled at him, lunging forward to grab the front of his shirt and heft him so we were eye-to-eye.

            "You know, I think I'm going to enjoy this. You want to join them?" I smiled then at his abject terror, releasing his shirt and instead gripping Danny by the elbows. "Yes.... you're in my way, but not for long."

            How shall I describe it? My grip on Danny's arms was tight enough to crush bone. I delighted in the sound as Danny cried out his pain as I pulled the limbs, testing my newfound strength. Vlad struggled to his feet and tried to protect the boy, but he was just as weak as my human self. I smacked the billionaire aside again, smiling when I saw him hit the wall and slide to the floor unconscious.

            "Oh, don't make such a fuss." I sneered, finally tearing the offending arms away entirely and throwing Danny against the wall, the boy screaming in agony and thrashing in a way not entirely unlike my own tantrum only a short while ago. But my pain was a beginning, a new life and freedom. Danny's pain would be an ending, a death well-earned for his shortcomings, his failures. "It's not as though you need your hands, the useless things. Those hands couldn't save anyone, least of all our family."

            Unsurprisingly, my maimed human self didn't seem to notice my taunt as I tossed the severed limbs at his feet. It was a work of art, really. The contrast of brilliant red splashed against the brushed silver of the wall like some sort of abstract painting, with my mangled and bleeding human half thrashing, the artist's paintbrush. A shame I didn't have a video camera, really.

            I stood there and watched with a smile as Danny's thrashing made a rather large mess before I grabbed him by the throat and hefted him again. He was rapidly going pale from blood loss, his white and red shirt now more of the latter color, blood-red. Smiling coldly, I tightened my grip, feeling him thrashing and gasping desperately for air.

            "Stop... please-" Danny gasped in a tiny voice, his struggles slowing. I stared him in the face, watching with no small amount of delight as his blue eyes glazed over. With my free hand, I charged a small blast of ectoplasmic energy, quietly delighting to myself at how easily I could form such a blast. Still smiling, I placed my glowing palm just inches from Danny's stomach, releasing the blast and putting the finishing touches on my "painting" on the wall behind him. He managed to convulse once or twice, one final scream dying quickly as I threw the remains to the floor, a spent and useless hull.

            I looked around the underground lab, chuckling. I could destroy it... and Vlad Masters with it. My archenemy and my old weakness, both destroyed in a single blast. I raised both hands over my head, still laughing as I charged a blast, just to see how big an explosion I could generate. The glowing green sphere flashed into being quickly, swelling to a foot in diameter, then two feet, then three... until it loomed over my head, shining like a miniature green sun in that enclosed space. My laughter increased in volume as I slammed the ecto-sphere upward, the blast detonating with nuclear force against the ceiling.

            Words fail me when I describe the freedom I felt as I leapt into the air, laughing as I rode the shockwave of the massive explosion. In seconds I was several hundred feet in the air, looking down at the destroyed castle receding into the distance. I didn't want to stay in the wilderness, no. I wanted to go _home_ , back to Amity Park, free now to share my real feelings with the people there. I tore across the countryside, firing massive green blasts below me for little reason beyond the fact that I _could_.

            Within two days I was flying over the outskirts of Amity Park, my blasts withheld for the moment. This was my home town, I wasn't sure yet if I truly wished to see it burn. I touched down easily, staring up at the familiar sight of home, of FentonWorks. The building was quiet, largely as I had left it when I first departed for Wisconsin. I stood there, contemplating my options. It would be so easy to destroy it, but did I really want to? Part of me ached to put my newfound power to good use. The ghosts that plagued the city would stand little chance against me as I now was- all of Vlad's power and all of Danny's ingenuity in one neat package.

            "DANNY!" I spun around, and there _she_ was, running at me a look of relief all over her dark face. Valerie threw herself at me, and I caught her out of sheer reflex, her arms around me in an enthusiastic hug. "You came back!"


	5. Encounter

**Encounter**

            "Danny, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have reacted like that, I'm so sorry, can you ever forgive me? I was so worried, I've been trying to find you for weeks! I was so worried something awful had happened because of me! I'm so sorry-!" Valerie babbled at me, her voice muffled slightly as she buried her face into my chest.

            "Valerie-?" I hesitatingly returned the gesture, slightly dazed by the apparent change in the ghost hunter's attitude. I felt my anger rising as I held her. First she throws my old trust of her in my face, tries to kill me, and then expects stupid words to patch things up? My hug began to tighten as I considered what I could do to the girl, useless as she was with her crippling display of emotion.

            "Yeah, Danny." She confirmed, still blathering. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean those things I said... I was just so shocked, I was stupid. I really-"

            She fell silent as I shoved her to arm's distance, examining her tear-streaked face. I watched her eyes darting over my new features, saw the barest hint of worry and confusion flitting across her face as we drank in each other's appearance at that close range. I smiled then. She would pay for what she did. She was but one more reminder of a past I hated, that I wanted to eliminate. And I would enjoy every moment of that elimination, just as I had enjoyed ripping my own weakness apart.

            "Danny, are you-?" She began to ask, the inquiry cut short as I tightened my grip on her shoulder, clenching my other hand into a fist that I quickly planted in her midsection. I smiled at the sensation against my hand of her ribs breaking, bones snapping like dry twigs. I didn't know the full measure of my strength just yet, but I was going to delight in discovering it. Valerie dropped like a stone, gaping up at me in shock. "D-danny? What are you doing?"

            I stood over the fallen ghost hunter, felt my fangs against my lip as I smirked wickedly at her prone form. "What I should have done months ago."

            "I-I know you're probably mad at me," Valerie stammered as she struggled back to her feet, seriously hampered by her ribs. "-but Danny, after you disappeared, I was so worried-"

            "You had your chance, Valerie." I retorted coldly, twisting easily to slice at her with one foot that would likely have shattered her spine. Unfortunately, she staggered to the side and the kick only knocked her to the ground, likely bruising her shoulder. "We all did."

            Indeed we all had our chances. She had ruined my last chance, the chance I gave her in my weakness, and I saw no reason to give her another one. She deserved to suffer as I had, she deserved every last ounce of agony I could give her. I knew there was a lot I _could_ give her, too.

            "What are you talking about? Danny, I didn't know... if I'd known, I'd never have done what I did before. I know you're upset-" Valerie pleaded as she clawed her way upright again. I cut her off yet again, charging a small quantity of ectoplasmic energy into my fist, striking her a third time and sending her again to the floor, grinning when I saw the blow was already raising a large bruise. "Danny... why are you doing this? I'm your friend!"

            "I don't _have_ any friends." I hissed, my delight at her pain momentarily depleted by the reminder of what my uselessness had taken from me. "Not anymore."

            I felt my anger rising again, reaching new heights, a torrent that I simply had to release. While Valerie presented the nearest and best target, I wanted to make sure she _knew_ , I wanted her to _see_ my rage, to tremble and know what fear was. I wanted her to _hurt_ , to feel the pain of betrayal she had given me. Half-turning to take aim and also keep an eye on the helpless ghost hunter, I raised one hand, smiling as the green blast of energy formed with such ease, so much power at my command. I delighted at the horrified expression on Valerie's face when I released the blast, watching it consume a car and everyone in it before moving on, a swath of destruction crashing explosively to a halt against a building several blocks away. It was pleasing, incredibly pleasing to see I was capable of such powerful blasts.

            "Danny, stop it! You don't need to do this!" Valerie pleaded from where she had fallen, pale despite her dark complexion.

            "I don't _need_ to do this." I turned to face the girl, knowing my eyes were alight with my glee at the destruction. It simply felt _so_ **good** to openly use my powers like that. I raised my other arm, pointing in Valerie's direction as I charged a blast slowly. I wanted to relish this. "I **want** to do this. Goodbye, Valerie."

            I was stupid, and not paying attention. Otherwise I would have seen it coming, a brilliant pink energy beam that came blazing from somewhere beyond the girl. I yowled angrily at the scorching pain of an ecto-gunshot hitting me in the face, staggering backward from the force of it, my blast forgotten as I clutched at my aching face. I recovered quickly, glaring at Valerie first. She was normally the only person with those annoying weapons. But she lay still where she had fallen down, gawking at me, her hands empty.

            "Get away from my daughter!"

            "How quaint." I spat, looking past the girl at her father, standing protectively behind her, a beam gun in one hand, some sort of launcher in the other. "Family to the rescue, is it?"

            "I don't know who you are, ghost-" Damon stepped forward, placing himself between me and my intended victim, glowering at me. "-but you're not touching Valerie if I can help it!"

            _And I'm sure that there's **so** much you can do to stop me._ I thought to myself, smiling as I shifted my own stance. So I had to deal with this pleasant little diversion before I could take my revenge on Valerie. Indeed, killing her father right in front of her could become part of my revenge. Honestly, what did the man think he could do? I motioned at him to take the first shot, confident. "You first then, old man."

            Damon shouted a wordless noise as he brought the beam gun to bear with more speed than I would have credited the security guard with. Of course, his aim was terrible, I simply sidestepped the volley of pink beams, approaching the man almost leisurely. He would be the perfect way to make Valerie suffer for what she'd done. She certainly didn't deserve to have any family, after all.

            "My turn." I stated plainly once I was near enough. The stupid man didn't see it coming, a hard punch to the jaw that made him spin almost comically before he fell down. I raised one eyebrow with mild surprise and amusement as Damon stubbornly got back up, shrugging off the blow despite the ugly welt now decorating his face. I took aim for his shoulder and launched another punch, that would have shattered the man's collarbone and dislocated his shoulder.

            "Valerie, snap out of it!" Damon jumped to one side, my attack missing him completely. I snarled as my momentum carried me past the stocky man. I felt my eyes widen in shock when I heard a loud click next to my ear right before something hit the back of my head and exploded, the impact sending me flying forward. It _hurt_ , and I barely had time enough to turn intangible before I would have smacked into a building. He shot me! That stupid idiot _shot_ me, in the back no less!

            I recovered quickly, of course. The blast had hurt, being it was a ghost-hunting weapon, but I was now much stronger than before, and Valerie's weapons were meant for hunting my weaker self, now gone. I turned myself invisible and passed back outside, floating up behind Damon, who was wasting his effort looking around. The fool maimed himself nicely with that attack I noticed, silently taking stock of the man's bruises and scrapes. I raised an invisible hand, preparing to blast him at point-blank range as he had done to me.

            "Hmph, shooting someone in the back. Hardly sporting." I scoffed, still invisible as I flung the blast. Damon spun at the sound, and I took great delight in his shocked expression the instant before the green ball of energy introduced itself to his face, sending him staggering backward. I reappeared then, chuckling at the carnage. "Oh, but I guess _I'm_ not very sporting either, am I?"

            I rather doubt the security guard heard my remark, he was too busy dropping the beam gun and clutching at the blasted side of his face, gasping in pain. I could have made it a killing blow, but this was just too much fun. Valerie was horrified, but too afraid to do anything about it, huddling where she had fallen and staring at the scene with wide eyes.

            "Is that all?" Damon finally hissed through his pain, pulling himself back upright. I was honestly surprised at the man's endurance. I could see plain as day that he was effectively half-blinded from my last attack, his face had to be afire with pain. Yet he seemed determined to continue his futile efforts to protect his fool daughter.

            "Look, this is really fun." I admitted, avoiding another ecto-grenade round that Damon fired, his aim worse with one eye burned away from my ectoplasmic blast. I laughed at the attempt, at this stupid pawn. "But do you really think you can stand up to me?"

            To my annoyance, Damon refused to acknowledge my remarks, instead still addressing his useless daughter. "Valerie, run! Get out of here!"

            I laughed when the ghost hunter tried to get back on her feet, only to fall back down with a pained cry. I would enjoy her reaction when her father was finished off. I suppose the glee about killing my enemy's father could be a holdover from Plasmius. In any event, I raised an energy barrier as Damon resumed his attack, resisting the urge to yawn mockingly. Really, Damon was no brighter than I had been in my weakness, and ran right into the shield with a yelp. I dropped my protective barrier after an instant, one hand shooting out to catch the tall man around that extremely vulnerable jugular.

            "I think I'm done playing now." I smiled at Damon, tightening my grip and depriving the man of air. I had to float off the ground a little to hover eye-to-eye with the security guard, ignoring his hands franticly trying to break my grip. He might as well have been trying to break armor plate with his bare hands.

            I ought to have been paying better attention to my _real_ target while I was toying with Damon. Just because Valerie had been a whimpering useless waste of carbon so far had no bearing on her actions upon her father's imminent death. I was caught completely by surprise and slammed hard to the ground by the cold steel of Valerie's jet sled, my grip on Damon broken. I responded with a flurry of green blasts, trying to shoot the red-clad ghost hunter out of the air. She really did an admirable job of dodging and weaving through the storm of green energy before I finally landed a shot that sent her crashing gracelessly to the ground. I flew down where she had fallen, landing in front of her just as she got clumsily back to her feet, startled eyes locked onto my own.

            "So you still have some fight left, Valerie?" I sneered at her, enjoying the conflicting looks of hatred and terror flitting across her dark face.

            "D-danny-!" She backed away from me, apparently still incapable of actually fighting me.

            "This is amusing. You really think I still _care_ for you?" I stalked forward as she backed away. It was actually rather odd. I clearly remember having liked her, but none of that feeling remained but the memory. "That I still have _feelings_ for you?"

            "Danny, stop this, please!" Valerie pleaded, her voice coming out as a barely audible squeak from her fear.

            "Why should I?" I snarled. Indeed, the people in Amity Park certainly never cared, branding me an enemy despite my efforts to save the town dozens of times over. No more, those sappy days were gone. "Why should I care about anything? About you, this town, about _anything_? I'm **through** with caring."

            "Danny, stop-!" Valerie pleaded as I grabbed her by the front of her suit and yanked her forward. It pleased me, seeing her reduced virtually to begging. And she would receive every bit as much mercy as she had given me, when I pleaded so desperately for her acceptance.

            "I'll stop when I'm ready to stop. I hate this place. I hate the Nasty Burger. I hate Casper High. I hate Vlad Masters, that stupid man. I hate FentonWorks. I hate this city." I hissed, watching the girl cringe at the sight of my fangs. Or perhaps that was about the green blast I was already forming in my free hand? "And I **hate** _you_. When I stop, I won't have to look at _any_ of it anymore. It will all be _gone_ , and I'll never see any of it again."

            I meant it, too. I was mildly surprised at the decision. Danny Phantom, alternately celebrated as a hero and reviled as a villain, responsible for the utter annihilation of Amity Park. It seemed right. Oh, in my weakness I would never have considered such an idea, being so dumbly focused on _helping_ people and _saving_ the town. But really, what's the point of having freakish powers from the netherworld if you don't show them off? I _deserved_ better than what I had received from the people I wasted my time protecting, and I would make them know it.

            "No, don't-!" Valerie yelped in pure terror, at Death itself staring her in the face. I suppose if I wanted to be particularly witty about it, I would have shaped the blast to resemble the Reaper's scythe.

            "And goodbye." I declared in a flat tone, seeing no need for further dramatics as I raised my hand and prepared to end the stupid girl's life.

            " ** _VALERIE!_** "

            Would that man _never_ stay down? Damon came hurtling from where he had last fallen, putting his entire weight into ramming me aside and crashing into Valerie. Not one to waste a perfectly good blast, I launched it in the general direction of the pair. Surely one of them would get hit at that range. I was immediately rewarded with Damon's high-pitched scream and Valerie's startled yelp. Funny how enjoyable that sound was, a long agonized cry of pure pain.

            Valerie made a surprisingly rapid recovery, calling that silly sled of hers back and flying between me and her gravely wounded father. I crossed my arms and simply stood there watching with a wicked grin as she collected the wounded man and fled. It would be _so_ easy to pick them out of the air, just one well-placed shot and they would both be incinerated or splattered across the ground. I should have known better than to waste my time on such gloating, but at the time I was confident that the ghost hunter was no longer a threat, that I would have plenty of time to toy with her and extend her suffering.

            Once she was out of sight, I turned my attention to other things, listening to the approaching sirens. I laughed, lifting into the air and flying to where it all ended. Or should I say, where it all _began_. I touched down before the ruin, glaring at it, hating it.

            The Nasty Burger.

            What remained of it, in any event. Portions of the walls still stood, surrounded already by reconstruction. I didn't need to look inside to know that there was an ash-covered crater where the sauce tanks used to be. The memory of the place right before it detonated will forever remain in my mind with unparalleled clarity. I wanted to destroy that image, make it go away. I smiled as the workers noticed me and began to flee in a panic, tools falling, the sound lost amid the chaos.

            "GHOST!"

            "Run for it!"

            "Help! Help! It's a ghost!"

            I charged another large blast, not unlike the one that I had used to destroy the cheesehead's castle. Let them run, there was no way they could outrun the shockwave as I launched the green sphere. I turned myself intangible as the thing detonated, the explosion tearing the ruins to bits and sending debris flying several blocks away. Almost unheard in the blast were the shrieks of terror, the workers who were quickly consumed by the explosion or sent flying, smashing into walls or to the ground from the shockwave.

            "So much for the Nasty Burger." I mused aloud, surveying the damage. The sirens finally caught up to my location, easily half a dozen police cars squealing to a halt not far from where I hovered.

            "Freeze, police!" In a moment, several dozen guns were leveled at me as the police surrounded me.

            "Oh _please_." I sneered, floating a little higher into the air.

            "Surrender ghost!" One of the officers commanded.

            "Or what?" I retorted, forming several small green spheres in the air above one hand. "Or you'll shoot? I'd like to see you try."

            I really should give them credit for trying. They couldn't touch me even when I was weak and stupid, did they honestly think they would fare any better now that I was free of my silly notions of justice? Gunshots filled the air but I simply turned intangible, laughing as the bullets passed harmlessly through my translucent form. During a relative lull in the hail of lead, I turned myself solid again, throwing the miniature ecto-blasts in a wide scattering pattern, like a ghostly cluster bomb. Many of the officers were caught directly by the explosions, others managed to flee or otherwise take cover. I laughed softly as the squad cars flipped over or ignited in brilliant fireballs of green and orange.

            The police continued to oppose me throughout the day and well into the night. It was little more than a game to me, destroying the squad cars that approached, and then turning my attention to the surrounding buildings until the next batch arrived. I didn't have to venture far from where the Nasty Burger used to stand, perhaps only a few blocks away in a nearby residential neighborhood. Most of my efforts were focused on the buildings and the cars rather than the stupid people in them, though I'm sure several lives were lost in the explosions. Sure it wasn't helping anyone, but it helped me, on the inside. It was pure euphoria, transmuting my anger into action, into explosions that echoed for miles and sent tremors through the ground. Heh, even Vlad at his worst had never used his powers like this, that sentimental fruit loop.

            By the time night fell, the police resistance had all but ceased entirely. I suppose the under funded public defenders were sorely outmatched. With that nuisance out of my way, I continued on through the night, delighting to myself in how limitless my stamina was. I no longer needed to worry about running out of power and turning back to my human form, so vulnerable and useless; food, water, and sleep were now worries of the past. I was _free_ to do as I wished.

            That night passed much as the day before, my path marked by demolition as smoke lit green blocked the sky. The police may have largely been wiped out, but there were still SWAT teams and the like that were attempting to stop me. Hah, as though a bunch of normal humans with no knowledge of ghosts could stop one! I toyed with them throughout the night and well into the following day, before I returned to the ruins of the Nasty Burger invisibly.

            Stupid people, the city is a warzone, and who do I find in the thick of it? A news crew, a bunch of fools risking their lives for the scoop. I floated down behind the reporter, listening to him squeak out his report and utterly oblivious to the danger lurking invisibly behind him.

            "This is Lance Thunder, who really wishes he'd taken that acting job in Los Angeles, reporting live from Amity Park as the city bunkers down for Ghost Watch, day 2. Yesterday afternoon, an unknown ghost began a rampage in the heart of the city, first demolishing the fast-food establishment you see behind me. Police attempted to stop the ghost, but as you can see, all attempts so far have failed. The mayor has urged all citizens to remain calm and indoors-" The man paused then, glancing at the destruction all around him, at the smoke hanging thick in the air, the green flames still burning in some of the debris. "Oh the heck with it. Get out while you still can!"

            I withheld my laughter at the man's fear, allowing myself to become visible again, smiling widely as I leveled a blast at the camera. _I suppose this would be where I would say something like those idiots on TV about "Hi, Mom!" or something stupid like that._ I mused as I charged the blast.

            "Lance-! Behind you!" The cameraman gasped, abandoning the camera and beginning to flee. The field reporter whirled around, his voice reaching a most effeminate pitch as I fired my blast, easily engulfing the man and leaving nothing recognizable. The cameraman didn't get very far either as the shot destroyed the camera and shortly thereafter caught him full in the backside. I laughed as I watched, two fools dying for their stupidity.

            The day and the following night proceeded much along those lines, it seemed likely I would be able to eliminate all these unpleasant reminders of the past within a matter of days. I continued to pick on the SWAT teams and other remnants of the police throughout the day, as well as the media. Helicopters really _are_ one of the most volatile items known to mankind; they explode _so_ well with so little provocation.

            I was actually mildly surprised. I know I _should_ have been feeling remorse, or perhaps pity for the people that were being killed. I should have been horrified by my actions, disgusted at the violent crimes I was committing. Neither my weaker self nor the cheesehead had been murderers, but despite my efforts, I found no trace of hesitation. Truly, I had every reason to lash out at Valerie as I had, but I had no reason for blasting Joe Nobody to smithereens. Yet I did, and enjoyed it, enjoyed the power, the _control_. It was by my hand that these people would live or die, and I relished it. In my weakness, I had no control over fate. Now, my control over life and death was absolute.

            It was when I was busy displaying this control that _she_ decided to show up again. I was enjoying the display caused by lobbing an ectoplasmic blast at the gas tank of a large bus, watching the way the green fire of my blast set off the contents of the tank, consuming the thin metal hull of the vehicle and everything inside it in a violent blast of fire. She must have decided to go back to ghost hunting, for I didn't realize she was there until she'd shot me in the chest. I was caught by surprise and tumbled into a nearby wall before I could phase through it.

            "So you finally crawled out of your hiding hole, Valerie?" I growled as I recovered, glaring at the girl as I lifted into the air. She couldn't possibly hope to put up much of a fight, I had a relatively good idea of how badly injured she was, just a foolish girl trying to do the impossible.

            "You're goin' down ghost!" She retorted, firing wildly at me. Perhaps something in my stance scared her off, for shortly thereafter she turned and fled as fast as her jet sled could carry her.

            "Yes, run!" I crowed as I gave chase. She stayed low, which annoyed me. Higher in the air, I would have easily been able to overtake her. Down amid the buildings however, she was still able to keep some distance, weaving wildly through the concrete and steel towers. "Just like before, only I'm not going to be so forgiving as to let you escape a second time!"

            I fired blasts at her, of course, potent plumes of green energy, certainly enough to annihilate the girl if only they had hit her instead of the sides of buildings as we played our high-stakes game of tag through the streets. I knew I was steadily gaining on her despite her efforts to elude me, and I grinned. It was only a matter of time before I caught her and wiped that painful reminder of the past away.

            "Too scared to fight me? Or are you still too caught up in how we _feel_ for each other?" I snarled as I gained on her, near enough now that she could easily hear my angry shouts. "Hoping that I'll come to my senses and we can all live _happily ever after_!"

            There could never _be_ a "happily ever after" now. Mine had ended in a violent blast of volatile burger sauce, in a useless retreat from a once-trusted friend. I was alone and angry, and lashing out at the sources of my continued pain. Oh, I'm sure I may have come to a different conclusion had the circumstances been different. Perhaps if Vlad had waited longer before suggesting the operation, then maybe I would not have been so angry. Perhaps if Valerie had not been the first thing I saw when I returned, the sight kindling my sense of betrayal. So many possibilities, but only the one truth.

            I chased Valerie around one final corner, realizing she had led me a stone's throw from my old home. I didn't have long to register the fact though, as I was knocked from the air to a crash landing against the unforgiving asphalt below. I cried out in surprise at the ambush, the cry turning into a sustained yowl of pain as dozens of blasts lashed out from the surrounding buildings. I lost sight of Valerie in the maelstrom, snarling as I got back to my feet, flinging powerful ecto-blasts indiscriminately at where I thought some of the shots had to be coming from. While I did blast out impressive chunks of buildings, it did little to ease the dense flurry of shots raining down.

            "It's about time someone put up a _barely_ capable defense!" I hissed through clenched teeth, grinning at the challenge. _So she marshalled a defense force, did she?_ I thought angrily as I tried to dodge through the hailstorm. I could turn intangible to avoid the grenades and other solid weapons, but the energy guns hurt regardless of my physical state, and even I was unable to evade or block them all. I drifted nearer to the building, slowly whittling down the incoming fire with my own blasts. I was displeased to realize that the damage I was taking was beginning to limit the destructive power of my blasts.

            I heard a shrill shout, I think it had to be some obscene phrase in Spanish, and I found myself knocked flat on my face by a powerful shot from behind. I got up quickly, and spun to face whoever had fired. I was momentarily startled when I saw who it was.

            "Paulina-?" I yelped at the sight of the pretty cheerleader, bracing a large ecto-cannon against one shoulder and glaring daggers at me. So another girl I had liked was trying to kill me now? We glared at each other for a long moment, interrupted by the protective green dome of the FentonWorks ghost shield coming to life. "Well, this is amusing... the ghost shield to trap me? All I have to do to destroy the build-"

            I didn't get the chance to finish the statement, interrupted by the girl leveling the weapon at me and firing a surprisingly accurate flurry of blasts at me.

            "This is for killing Inviso-Bill!" She shrieked angrily as I dodged through the rain of blasts.

            _For **what**?_ I thought, momentarily confused by the cheerleader's battle cry.

            "How do you kill a ghost?" I heard a second voice, one that was all too familiar and that I had longed to use my powers against for some time now. Dash Baxter, the star of the football team and notorious bully. I had despised him even before the operation, a hatred that burned brighter now that I was no longer inhibited in what I did with my powers.

            "Don't just stand there! Shoot him!" Paulina yelled at the idiot jock.

            "Oh, right!" Dash pointed a pair of small ecto-guns at me and started firing wildly. "Eat... whatever these things fire!"

            His aim was terrible, though I hesitate to declare whether his aim was worse than my departed father's had been. I evaded the shots easily until a blast from Paulina's weapon caught me in the face and knocked me down. Why do they always aim for the face? It doesn't work, and all it ever succeeds in doing is making me more enraged.

            "I've had enough of you and Dash." I growled as I got back up and turned intangible, letting myself sink into the ground. I could have just blasted them both to bits, but I couldn't quite bring myself to destroy the object of much of my former attention. Instead, I launched myself skyward, one fist catching Paulina hard in the face, tumbling her away. Her flawless skin was marred by several scrapes and bruises as she tumbled ungracefully to a halt several feet away, the thin girl easily knocked unconscious from the blow.

            Dash stood his ground as I turned my attention to him. "Isn't _this_ an ironic reversal?" I grinned wickedly as I prowled toward the terrified jock. I absentmindedly fired a large blast behind me, half-listening to the repeated reports of concrete slabs tearing loose and smashing into the crowd of fighters somewhere beyond the ghost shield. I was going to truly and completely enjoy this little encounter.

            Dash retreated as I advanced, the dumb boy firing his weapons wildly. "Reverse this, loser!"

            "'Loser', am I?" I chuckled, launching myself forward and grabbing the jock's wrists, gripping tight enough to make the bones creak painfully. Dash dropped the weapons, yelping at the pain as I glared at him eye-to-eye. "How appropriate, Dash. Do you _know_ who I am?"

            "N-no!" Dash whimpered as he squirmed and struggled to break my hold. "You're the ghost that... that killed Danny Phantom!"

            "That's the story Valerie is spreading?" I laughed long and loud as it suddenly made sense. I whirled and flung Dash into a wall, immediately pouncing the jock and getting a good grip on his throat. It was annoying that he still had a couple of feet in height over me. "That's rich! I **_am_** Danny Phantom."

            Oh, what a sight Dash's face was when I turned his understanding of the situation inside-out. "Th-that's impossible! He'd never do-"

            I interrupted the struggling football star, thoroughly enjoying his helplessness. How many times had I been left helpless at his hands? How many times had I been beat on, threatened, stuffed into lockers and otherwise abused by this stupid _child_?

            "Never do what? Stand up to you? _Hurt_ you? Oh, wait. I forgot. Danny _Fenton_ was the one that would sit back and take your juvenile abuse... despite having the power to put an end to your stupid antics months ago." I hissed, staring him right in the eyes. "But no, all he did was very rarely use his powers to embarrass you, to avoid your bullying. When he could just as easily have done ** _this_**!"

            Dash gaped at the energy blast I was forming, stunned by power and by the revelation that had gotten through even his idiot skull. "Y-you mean... Fenton... he's the... he's you?!"

            "Give the boy a prize! Though perhaps it would be more accurate to say he _was_ me. I'm no longer that soft-hearted _fool_. **I** get rid of those who get in my way." I sneered at him, delighting in the way he stared and thrashed so uselessly.

            "N-no! I'm sorry! I'll never do it again-! Please don't-!" He whimpered, begging and pleading for mercy. It amused me to see the proud bane of my high school existence reduced to such cowardly crying for leniency.

            "I want you to know, Dash." I leaned in to whisper loudly to him, hearing him quivering in pure terror. "I'm going to **_enjoy_** this."

            Dash screamed long and loud as he was surrounded by my powerful blast of ectoplasmic energy, a green inferno that burned away his flesh, searing the skin and powdering the bone. It had used up a substantial portion of my power, but it was worth it to finally pay the jock back for all the torment I had suffered by his hands. It felt so very good to dish out my own brand of justice like that. I laughed despite my somewhat weakened condition, laughing at Valerie, at what had to be her plan that had fallen apart. The ghost shield wouldn't trap me for long, I knew precisely how to shut the thing off.

            I was surprised when something slim slammed into me, perfectly manicured nails digging into one shoulder as I was knocked to the ground. I heard an ecto-cannon charging slightly above me, too slow to completely avoid it.

            "THIS IS FOR TAKING THE GHOST-BOY FROM ME!"

            I hissed in pain as the blast struck me square in the back. I suppose I had largely found the limits of my power as I turned intangible and phased through the ground, propelled by the blast. With a grunt I slammed into the floor of my parents' lab, it took far longer than I would have liked to climb to my feet, my jumpsuit in tatters from the accumulated damage. As I got to my feet, I locked eyes with Valerie, the ghost hunter glaring down the barrel of some absurdly sized weapon at me.

            "So this is it." I glared at her. We were both in rather poor shape, I was not well pleased with the situation. That gun would probably hurt a great deal, and I found myself unsure if I could finish off my opponent, given my weakened state.

            "You got that right, Danny. Anything I might have felt for you... gone. You killed it, just like you killed all those people." Valerie snarled, the weapon in her hands charging up.

            I stared at her impassively, not betraying any of my concern. I would not show her weakness, there had to be a way to turn the confrontation around. An idea started to form, and I crossed my arms over my wounded chest. "Amusing. I wonder, can you **really** shoot me, Valerie? Would you shoot your _dear_ friend?"

            The statement seemed to anger her, which suited me fine. "I wouldn't shoot my _friend_." She spat. "But that's not a problem. _You're_ not him."

            "Are you so certain of that?" I smirked. It took more concentration than I seem to recall it did prior to the operation, but I was pleased and annoyed that I was still able to transform myself after a fashion. The white rings whirled into being and passed over me, flaming white hair replaced with the careless black mop of my weakness, my suit replaced with the looser jeans and t-shirt I used to wear. I could feel it however, I had not truly transformed back into a weak human form, it felt as if I had donned an ill-fitting mask, a costume a few sizes too small for my strength. It was horribly uncomfortable, but it served its purpose well enough.

            "D-danny!" Valerie gasped, her aim wavering as she stepped back in shock.

            I took it as a good sign that I might yet turn the encounter back to my favor and stepped forward, smiling at the stupid girl. "That's right... you can't shoot little old me, right, Val? We're pals, aren't we?"

            Just a few more steps and I would have been able to guarantee a fatal shot. But Valerie shook herself as if from a daze, staring hard at my eyes. She steeled herself again, raising that gun even as a round of tears oozed from from her bloodshot eyes.

            "We were once, Danny. But not anymore. Not now. Goodbye, Danny." She stated quietly in a somber tone as she took aim and pulled the trigger.

            I was about to say something else, but my ploy was cut off abruptly by that weapon spitting a massive pink beam of energy at me. At that close range I had no hope of evading it. I braced myself as best I could on the steel flooring, but I was unable to resist the impressive force of the blast. Howling with the discomfort and outright pain of the blow, I slipped and was flung backward. Only then did I realize what was going on, when I was surrounded momentarily by a flash of green light, the red beam disappearing.

            That little witch had not been trying to kill me, but to get me through that blasted portal! I tumbled several times before I could regain control of my trajectory, just in time to watch the green vortex swirl shut. The portal hadn't simply been closed from the other side, I realized. It had been shut down entirely, Valerie had likely destroyed some of the equipment outright, leaving me stranded in the Ghost Zone.

            I floated there for several minutes, getting my bearings and contemplating my options. I had to find some other way out of the Ghost Zone, but how-? The thought came to me soon enough.

            "Oh, duh. The cheesehead has a portal." I slapped myself on the forehead as I remembered that fact. I hovered in place, frowning as I tried to dredge up _where_ the thing was. I should have known where it was, surely Plasmius had used it numerous times in the past before the operation. I could remember _using_ the thing, hunting for the Skeleton Key, releasing Pariah Dark... but I could not remember _where_ the portal was, a fact that was vastly displeasing. If I couldn't recall where the portal was, then I would have to look for it, or hope I could find a door connecting the real world to the Ghost Zone. I truly despised the idea of leaving my escape to such chance, but I had little choice.

            I winced and prepared to fly off to begin my search when I was struck hard from behind and quickly felt my hands lashed together. Several more blows landed, worsening my already diverse assortment of injuries and clouding my vision, though I didn't quite black out. I heard a voice behind me, smug as I was being hauled off, catching glimpses of ghosts clad in riot gear, and of some sort of van with "GZPD" emblazoned on its sides.

            "I've got you now, punk. Nobody escapes punishment for breaking the rules for long. You won't be breaking out of _my_ prison again."


	6. Capture

**Capture  
**

            "Resisting arrest, conspiring to escape jail, assaulting an officer, several charges of assault and battery, destruction of private property, disturbing the peace, repeatedly driving an unregistered vehicle in the Ghost Zone, breaking and entering a restricted area, operating a real world vehicle without a license, possession of real world contraband, use of illegal recording and communications equipment, owning anti-ghost weaponry without a permit, carrying a concealed anti-ghost weapon..."

            I sat in the chair I'd been forced down into, scowling and largely ignoring the prison warden rattling off the impressive list of my charges. It was infuriating, being captured so easily by Walker and his men; it was more infuriating that after my battle with Valerie and her little goon squad I was too weak to fight the ghosts off.

            "I would have let you off easy with just a thousand years, punk. But you kept giving me problems." Walker slapped his rulebook shut. "And my problems are _your_ problems. I think three afterlife sentences without possibility of parole is plenty. Got it, punk?"

            "You won't keep me here." I retorted flatly, confident in that truth. My strength would recover, and then the jailor would pay for this indignity.

            "I think otherwise. Your little half-human trick won't work this time. I've got a special cell made up _just_ for you." Walker retorted, motioning to his guards to prod me from my seat.

            I declined to mention to the obnoxious warden that I was a far cry from half-human now, no longer a so-called "halfa", to use that stupid Poindexter's term for it. At best, I was perhaps one or two percent human still, little more than dregs of my past existence that still cling to me and allow me to take on the appearance of my weakness. I didn't resist as I was forced to my feet and half-dragged to my cell. I would wait, I had little choice in the matter. I couldn't fight my way out, weakened still from my aborted destruction of my past. But in time, my wounds would mend, and I would delight in demonstrating how useless Walker's idiotic rules really were.

            My cell was not terribly remarkable, a barren cube of stone perhaps six feet across. The only amenity was a clearly uncomfortable bunk that I sat down on as soon as I had been shoved unceremoniously into the little room. I could see the expanse of the Ghost Zone beyond the tiny barred window, apparently my cell was near the outer walls of the prison. Ignoring the warden who stood watching me as I surveyed my new surroundings, I raised one hand and launched a small ecto-blast at each of the walls and the bars in turn. The green beams merely dissipated on impact, doing no damage to the stone.

            "Nice, isn't it?" Walker gloated as I scowled at him through the bars. "You can't phase out of there as a human or as a ghost, and I made sure it was blast proof. You're not going anywhere, punk."

            I glared daggers at his back while he walked away, presumably to tend to other tasks involved with running a large-scale prison. So I would have to wait until I was recovered before I could blow the walls away. Sure, small-scale blasts were apparently deflected by the walls... but I rather doubted that the walls would remain standing after a massive explosion compromising their stability. Until then, I was stuck in this place, stuck thinking about all the happy and unhappy memories attached to it. My first time in the lock-up, and the daring escape. My parents' anniversary, all the hassle with retrieving that present I had carelessly blasted through the portal. The portal that Valerie had forced me through before sealing it behind me, trapping me in the Ghost Zone so that Walker was even able to ambush me.

            I sat on my bunk, brooding and contemplating my options. Once I was out of Walker's jail, I would need to find a way back to the real world so I could finish what I had started in Amity Park. Valerie would _burn_ for this, I would make sure she paid dearly for her offenses, for ruining my last hope. But as I thought about it, I realized my conundrum was greater than I had first considered. The Fenton portal was closed to me, but in the heat of the moment I had forgotten that the cheesehead's portal was likely little more than bent and slagged steel and electronics, I rather doubt it survived the detonation of his castle. With both portals sealed, I had no certain pathway from the Ghost Zone to the real world.

            The thought of being trapped in the Ghost Zone until I could find a natural portal was extremely displeasing. There had to be some way back, more certain than the dumb luck of opening a door. To think I had been so stupid as to even suggest that to Valerie when Skulker had dragged us both to the Ghost Zone for his own amusement. Perhaps Johnny 13 still had the wreckage of that portable portal generator, or maybe the biker had even obtained a new one. Before he died, my father _had_ complained about things disappearing from the lab.

            I had plenty of time to plan and ponder. With my injuries, my recovery was long and tedious. Walker's men certainly did nothing to help the process, either. Every additional injury was one more reason they would all burn. Every smug remark the warden made to my face was one more way I would tear him apart. From what I saw of the mess hall, most of my other enemies had not been recaptured, or perhaps they had made deals with the warden. I wouldn't need help to escape this time. Even as I recovered, I knew I would continue to grow stronger, a trend shown clearly in those first faltering steps in my weakness months ago. It was a clear sign that I was growing stronger at a rapid pace, initially being barely able to fight off a couple of mindless ectopusses to fighting the ghost king on nearly even terms. I was already far stronger than I had been then; I wouldn't doubt I could possibly take on the ghost king himself, without the aid of the exo-skeleton my parents had built.

            The day of my escape came several months later. I likely could have effected my escape months before I chose to, but I wanted to be positive that when I broke free that I would be able to bring the prison down completely. Not to mention I wanted to be certain that there would be nothing left of that rulemongering idiot warden when I departed.

            It started simply enough. Walker was smirking at me in my cell, rubbing it in that he had won, that I would rot in his prison. I glared death at him from where I sat on the edge of my unused bunk.

            "Glare all you want, punk." Walker sneered at me. "But that's not getting you out of _my_ prison."

            "You know, you're right." I stood up slowly, savoring the moment, my fists at my sides already glowing with green energy. " _Glaring_ won't get me out of here."

            To his credit, Walker did take a step backward away from the bars. "You and I both know that you can't blast the walls apart. There's no way for you to get out of there."

            "Oh, I know I can't break the walls." I smiled, pointing both my palms at the floor. "But I don't need to. Tell me, Walker, is this cell rated to contain a multiple-megaton explosion?"

            "What-?" The warden's surprised query was cut short by said multiple-megaton explosion, a delightful blast several times more potent already than the one I had used to fell the cheesehead's castle. And almost all of it contained within a tiny little room six feet wide. I saw Walker leap to one side, the white tail his legs had become barely singed by the explosion directed out past the bars of my cell.

            I turned tangible after the explosion and most of the smoke had cleared, leaving my cell and the hallway beyond it hazy with green smoke. Walker peered out from wherever he had run, raising one bony eyebrow at the massive series of holes blown in the walls, a straight line of demolition starting with the wall that had been across the hallway from my cell. The warden looked at that, then to my cell, at the bars that still stood between me and the ghost, at the walls still around me.

            "Impressive, punk." He admitted once he found his voice. "But still not enough to get you out of... there...."

            The cause for his sudden drop in confidence was simple enough. I walked up to the bars, smirking the entire time, and flicked a finger against the steel. With a clatter the entire wall of bars fell over, pulled from their footings when the explosion had literally raised the roof. I strolled through the gap at a casual pace, smiling at the thought of making my mental image of the prison in ruins a reality.

            "Mm... Oh dear, did I _break the rules_ , Walker?" I snickered at the bad joke.

            An alarm was already sounding throughout the prison, and I heard the guards running- alright, flying if you really want to be technical- to the source of the disturbance. Walker straightened, pulling some sort of ecto-green billy club from his belt. In moments I was surrounded by similarly-armed guards. Hah, they honestly thought they stood a chance?

            "You can't take all my men on at once, punk." Walker growled, indicating me with a wave of his baton. "Get him!"

            I laughed as I dodged and countered the first several attacks. It was truly a delightful warm-up exercise after months of restraint. I will admit that Walker's goons were nothing if not well-coordinated, flanking me and trying to assault me from all angles. Too bad for them that they underestimated my power quite severely. I grabbed one of the guards by the tail and swung him in a wide circle, bowling several of the others over before I released the ghost's tail and watched him careen into the wall.

            "Is that really all you idiots have got for me?" I sneered, forming a pair of large green blasts, pointing one at the floor, the other at the ceiling. "Really, I could defeat you all _quite_ easily. With one hand behind my back, if you'd like."

            "What are you slackers _doing_?" Walker shouted uselessly at his men, the smartest of which looked to be thinking of retreating.

            "Hey, Walker." I snickered, drawing the warden's attention. "I think I'm about to break a lot more than just your _rules_."

            With that, I launched my blasts, laughing when they detonated. Mortar and brick went flying in all directions, propelled into the distance by the shockwave generated by the large green-tinged mushroom cloud. I heard several startled, pained shouts as guards and inmates alike were blown everywhere by the blast. I surveyed the aftermath with a satisfied smile. Walker's prison was in shambles,  bits of the flooring and ceiling still raining down in a faint clatter from having been blasted so high. Walker had somehow avoided the explosion, for he floated down from above, a look of utter shock plastered on his bony face at the sight of his precious prison, his bastion of order against the chaos of the Ghost Zone, now little more than a giant pile of rubble.

            "You're gonna pay for this, punk." Walker growled at me, slightly more of his accent slipping into his tone and betraying his rage. "You won't last long enough to serve your sentence!"

            I sidestepped as the ghost launched himself at me, his attack missing entirely. I really had angered Walker, the warden usually had such an air of smug calm about him. Oh, but then again, watching everything you care about go up in a gigantic explosion does seem to have an enraging effect on a person. Just look at me, after all!

            "You know, Walker." I said in a conversational tone as I continued to almost carelessly avoid his flurry of attacks. "Funny how little all your rules amount to in the end, isn't it? All it takes is one person to ignore them, and then they mean nothing."

            The ghost said nothing beyond an angry shout, and I finally grew bored of his barrage. Yawning, I shot forward and caught Walker's next punch rather than evade it. We locked eyes for a moment, and I grinned widely.

            "You really don't amount to much without all your useless lackies, do you?" I sneered, charging an ectoplasmic blast in my free hand. "And useless things shouldn't be allowed to exist."

            Walker's eyes widened, but the ghost said nothing. I was surprised he was still struggling against my grip and not cowering in fear. I was even more surprised to feel his foot suddenly plant itself at an unpleasant velocity in my midsection. I cringed and staggered slightly, but didn't fall or loosen my grip on the warden. He began to show fear when that last ploy failed, but did not plead the way Dash had. He looked me in the eye, defeated but still proud.

            "I think I'll just skip the whole judge and jury part." I growled, pointing my blast at that defiant face. "I think _I_ like the executioner part the best, too."

            The only sound was the blast and subsequent explosion- Walker made no utterance at the ectoplasmic energies that had to have been tearing him to pieces. Funny, you would think it would be impossible to kill something that was already dead. But I was pleasantly surprised to find nothing left of the ghost when the blast cleared. The idea of not simply defeating, but of completely _destroying_ all my enemies was terribly pleasing. At the very least, such a diversion would be an enjoyable way to spend the time while I searched for a way out of the Ghost Zone.

            With that in mind, I took off into the void, leaving the pile of rubble quickly behind. It would certainly be beneficial that these ghosts that had troubled me in the past should be destroyed. Then I could better focus my efforts on Amity Park. I could make certain Valerie got what she deserved, what they _all_ deserved. To think that I had trusted Valerie, had wasted so much time swooning over Paulina, and had put up with so much abuse from Dash. No more, I no longer had any reason to hide my identity, nothing left worth protecting.

            I spotted a castle in the distance, I was clearly in some part of the Ghost Zone I was unfamiliar with. I figured I had nothing against the denizens of the old stone hulk, so long as they didn't get in my way. I paused as I flew by the massive gates, considering an idea. Perhaps the locals might know of a route to the real world. It certainly couldn't hurt to inquire, so I flew through the huge entrance. I was almost immediately accosted by a troop of guards, their armor vaguely reminding me of some sort of goofy bird.

            "Halt, who goes there?" One of the lackies demanded of me, pointing his spear threateningly. Well, perhaps this wasn't such a grand idea.

            "Who's the loser in charge here?" I countered, crossing my arms.

            My attitude must have offended them, given the chorus of gasps and indignant remarks I heard whispered. The apparent leader of the troop cleared his throat and responded to my blunt inquiry, his disdain clear.

            "This is the realm of his royal Highness Prince Aragon." The ghost declared. "And you will show the proper respect or face the consequences!"

            I snorted at that. "I'll show respect where I wish. Fetch this prince then."

            "You can't just walk in and demand to see His Majesty!" The guard yelped.

            "Can't I?" I retorted, my voice turning increasingly dangerous. Without further word, I raised one hand, a green blast quickly incinerating the guard. "Now, with that idiot out of the way, let me talk to this prince guy. Unless you'd rather face the same fate?"

            The fools looked ready to fight, I'll give them that. I stood my ground, most bemused by their fool courage. With an angry chorus of threats the mob of ghostly knights charged forward, swords and javelins ready to rip me to bits. Until they crashed into the large square shield I formed to deflect the useless bits of ecto-steel. It was most comical the way the entire squadron pancaked into the green barrier before falling in a clumsy heap.

            "You idiots bore me." I dispersed my shield and pointed both hands at the ghosts, vaporizing them and a sizeable portion of the castle's outer walls with a large ecto-beam. It took care of the weak little guard ghosts easily. Given the enraged bellow from within the stone fortress, I could only assume I had gotten the attention of the mighty Prince.

            "Who _dares_ to attack _my_ castle?" I heard the voice of the ghost snarling from within, shortly accompanied by an angry hiss and the sound of something rather large stomping through the rubble.

            I was expecting some prim and pampered prince to emerge, perhaps with an entourage of more guards and waving a scepter in a threatening manner. That was not precisely what happened. I looked up as the prince emerged from the blasted wall. And up. And up some more. No one had bothered to mention that this Prince Aragon guy was a bloody _dragon_. A rather impressively powerful looking one, at that, all black and purple scales, ecto-green fangs, claws, horns, and other painful looking spiky bits.

            It wouldn't be the first time I dealt with a dragon ghost, though I confess that the blue one was much less imposing than this wicked behemoth. It glared balefully at me, accurately assessing that I was the source of the earlier explosion. "Do you realize who you are dealing with, boy?" It hissed.

            "I think that lack is mutual, Scaly." I retorted, lifting into the air so I was level with the thing's very angry face. My, those fangs _were_ quite large at close range. "Your goons annoyed me. Maybe you'll be more helpful?"

            The beast blinked in momentary confusion. "Yes, they are rather irritating..." He mused before glaring at me again. "You had best have a worthwhile reason for blasting my castle!"

            "Do you know a way to the human world from here?" I demanded, cutting straight to the chase.

            "If I did, I would not be telling it to such a foolish knave." The dragon snarled, apparently set already on hating me. I can't _imagine_ what for, I'd _only_ destroyed his guards and put a grand new door into his lair. He opened his jaws wide, the roar flattening my hair against my head as he spat a blast of blue fire at me.

            I split in half as I dodged left and right of the fireball, momentarily surprised by the instinctive maneuver. It did not come quite as easily as I recall it being for the cheesehead, but I _had_ forgotten about that little duplication trick until just that moment. I smiled slightly at the revelation- in my weakness the duplication ability had always been just beyond my reach with the sole exception of my battle with the ghost king, when my powers were amplified considerably by that battle suit. It was satisfying to know I finally had harnessed that skill as I stared at myself across the twenty or so feet of empty air between the two of me.

            The dragon prince seemed surprised by now having two targets. He seemed a great deal more surprised when I darted up and fired a blast of my own at his face. The beast jerked his horned head to one side, avoiding the blast and snapping at me with those giant fangs. I chuckled and evaded the blows, taunting the dragon. I might have let him go had he not gotten hostile, but now he fell firmly into that rather large category of beings that simply had to be destroyed.

            "Too used to having your guards do your dirty work?" I sneered, veering to the side and sidestepping another one of those large blasts of fire. The prince continued trying to hit me, a flurry of fire and fangs. For such a large ghost, he was surprisingly nimble in the air- I actually had to put some effort into predicting and evading his blows.

            While his attention was on me, I was also sneaking up behind him, my second self having apparently been forgotten in the behemoth's rage. This was excellent for me, yet one more way I could gain the upper hand in my efforts. I crept in close and took hold of the dragon's tail, mindful of the spines near the tip. Then I yanked the slender tail with all my impressive strength, stalling the beast midair and making him yelp with surprise as I spun him up to a good speed.

            "Unhand me!" The prince growled, trying to arc his serpentine neck to get a clear shot at me.

            "Whatever you say, Your _Majesty_." I retorted, my tone making the title an insult of the highest order. I checked my aim before unhanding the dragon's tail and letting basic physics handle the rest. Regardless of how nimble you may be in the air, with the kind of mass the dragon prince had, there was no stopping his trajectory. I smirked at the plume of dust that spread into the air when the black monster smashed into the castle, doing further damage to the structure.

            I landed nearby, my two selves reuniting into a single entity. "You ghosts are all alike." I sneered, walking toward the felled creature, noticing the ambient light glinting gold on something around that scaly neck. "All talk, and no action."

            As I got near the stunned dragon, I realized the gold glint was light reflecting off some sort of medallion. I remembered my last encounter with a dragon ghost, that cursed amulet that could turn the wearer into that blue ghost dragon. Was this similar to it? If so, removing that trinket would in theory reduce the mighty beast to little more than cannon fodder. I smirked as I strolled over to the beast and took hold of the medallion, pulling on it until the clasp gave way and the thing fell into my hands.

            The effect was immediate and impressive. With an angry howl, the monstrous dragon shrank in size, leaving a dazed figure perhaps only twice my height. He was certainly no Prince Charming, with a thorny crown and torn robes that matched his dragon form's scale armor. His face was nothing impressive either, a large chin and pinched beak of a nose, all an unflattering pale blue color. He staggered to his feet, realizing he was now at a severe disadvantage.

            "So, Prince, do you know how to get to the real world or not?" I inquired, lazily tossing a deceptively tiny ball of green energy between one hand and the other.

            "I know of no such thing!" The man denied, brandishing the short blade he had strapped to his belt. He really did seem indignant at the thorough trashing I had already given him.

            "Well, then I suppose I have no further use for you." I retorted, wondering what the ghost thought he could do with that useless blade of his.

            "Have at thee, fool!" The prince growled, leaping forward in what appeared to me some sort of fencing stance. So he knew how to properly use that bit of pointy steel, did he?

            "Oh please." I chuckled, sidestepping the first several slices. "You couldn't beat me in your oversized lizard form, do you honestly think you can do better with that tiny sword than with those massive claws?"

            The ghost said nothing, lunging forward again. I saw his free hand shoot out as he passed me, felt my grip on his medallion contested as he snagged the chain. So that was his goal, was it? Retrieving the obvious source of his power so he might stand- pardon the pun- a ghost of a chance against me. I tightened my grip, smiling when the taller spook's effort to pull the medallion free failed. "What _are_ you?" He gasped, staggering when I jerked hard on the medallion and pulled him off balance.

            "Your annihilation, that's what." I retorted with a sneer.

            "I think not!" The prince readied his weapon, absolutely bent on fighting me to the bitter end. I sidestepped the thrust of his blade.

            I'm not certain, but I believe I heard a female shriek from the portion of the castle that was still standing when I swept in, one fist charged brilliant green with energy and slammed it home in the ghost's face, sending him sprawling gracelessly to the floor, his sword skittering away on the rough ground.

            "Well, obviously you thought wrong." I smiled widely, the energy surrounding my fist shifting to form the now-familiar large blast that was certain to leave little more than a smoldering crater where the ghost lay. "Ta!"

            "No-!" The ghost's protest was lost in the explosion, the splash damage from the detonation bringing down weakened parts of the castle, and cracking and battering walls that had been sturdy.

            I floated into the air to survey my handiwork. I really did have a knack for property damage, a natural talent that could not have come from either half of me. It was such a delightful sensation, doing such damage with my power. Surely there was nothing in the Ghost Zone that could stand against me; and once I found a way back to the human world, there would soon be no one left there who could raise a weapon against my power.

            How was I to know that I was being observed at the time? A missile slammed into my back and sent me tumbling.

            "You didn't think you could hide from _me_ , whelp?"

            I recovered quickly and faced one of my longtime rivals, glowering at the metallic armoring and that irritating smile.

            "Skulker." I declared, a wicked little grin coming to my face. I was going to _enjoy_ this.


	7. Anger

**Anger**

            "Well, I figured you were bound to show up sooner or later." I sneered at the hunter. "What took so long?"

            Skulker aimed several of the weapons he carried at me, grinning with the prospect of having located his prey. "I tracked you to Walker's prison, whelp."

            He was about to say something else, but I interrupted him. "Oh, what stopped you from hunting me _there_ then, hmm? If I recall, the mighty hunter needed help to escape the prison before. Too scared to try your luck with the warden a second time?"

            My crass commentary seemed to anger the armored hunter, for Skulker growled something unintelligible and opened fire with a wide variety of weapons. Had my father still been alive, I'm positive he would have viewed the heavily armed ghost as a Holy Grail of ghost hunting technologies.

            "I hunt what I wish, whelp, and had _no_ interest in hunting a caged animal!" The big ghost snapped while he tried to shoot me. His aim was uncomfortably accurate, several shots that I was barely able to evade. Obviously Skulker was far more capable a fighter than either Walker or Aragon; I would have to fight intelligently and not simply with brute force. I found myself rather pleased at the prospect of the challenge.

            I darted through the hailstorm of beams and missiles, taking aim and returning fire with a volley of my own. "Well then you of all people should know just how _dangerous_ a caged animal can be when it gets out!"

            To his credit, Skulker did evade the vast majority of my blasts, only one clipping him and sending him spinning briefly out of control. He made a swift recovery and glowered at me with one of his trademark predatory grins; obviously the hunter was enjoying the match thus far, and didn't realize yet how badly outclassed he was. After all, he had been subjugated by the cheesehead in the past, and I was now an order of magnitude stronger than Vlad Masters had ever been. If I was able to beat him in my weakness, then I knew the ghost stood no chance against me as I now was.

            Skulker started up his jetpack and darted at me, obviously aiming to close the distance and engage me in close quarters. I chuckled and turned away, testing my flight speed, leading the hunter on a wild chase through the Ghost Zone. Obviously enthralled with the chase and the thrill of trying to shoot his prey out of the air, Skulker tore through the green sky after me, his shots narrowly missing, scorching my hair, zapping past my face as I dodged wildly. It almost reminded me of before, those times when the hunter had almost trapped me, always so narrowly thwarted from adding me to his collection.

            I **_hated_** that.

            "Are you _quite_ done playing, Skulker?" I snarled, flipping over midair to face the ghost while flying ahead of him. He obviously wasn't expecting the sudden reversal, my blast knocking him back several dozen feet and shearing both wings off his jetpack.

            He spun wildly, temporarily out of control, and I seized the moment. While the armored ghost was reeling, I leapt forward, slamming into his chest at considerable speed, one hand grabbing him by the ankle, the other by the wrist. He fought me, and fought hard; it was no simple task forcing our combined trajectory in one direction as we grappled at such close range. Luckily for me, Skulker couldn't use the vast majority of his weapons in such close quarters unless he wanted to catch himself in the explosions as well.

            "No witty banter?" Skulker growled, trying to gain leverage as we tumbled through the air.

            "Let's just say I don't need to buy any time with it like I _used_ to." I retorted, sending a blast through my hands and into the hunter's armor. With a satisfying pair of small explosions, the arm and the leg I had hold of were reduced to so much metal shrapnel, and we both plowed through a purple door, coming to a halt on the solid ground beyond.

            Skulker struggled to get his battered suit upright, while I landed easily on my feet a short distance away, ready to finish him off. The room we had crashed into was sparse, with a few shelves housing various misshapen gadgets and bits of machinery. In fact, I almost thought I recognized some bits and pieces that had gone missing after that ill-fated garage sale.

            "Hey, who dares enter the lair of Technus, master of circuitry and rogue of robotics? Without even knocking first?" A particularly obnoxious voice demanded from somewhere within the room.

            Skulker and I both glanced in the direction of the voice, and I found myself raising an eyebrow in irate disgust, while my opponent's expression bordered on utter bafflement. Indeed, as announced, the ghost floating there was Technus... but I honestly did _not_ need to see that much of the ghost. He was brandishing a scrubber brush in a menacing manner, his other hand was held down in front of him, the only thing between me and seeing _entirely_ too much of the spook.

            "For crying out loud, does Technus, master of circuitry blah, blah, blah, _have_ to storm out of the shower without grabbing a towel first?" Skulker snapped, mirroring my own disgust at the sight.

            "What are _you_ doing here, ghost-child?" Technus yelped, apparently realizing the entirety of the situation. He yanked the shower cap off his head and held that down in front of him along with his scrubber brush, but it honestly didn't help much more than just the one hand did. I would have fried him right then and there, but for the very real probability of seeing things I did not particularly have any wish to see.

            "Do us all a favor." I remarked, turning my attention away from the insufficiently covered ghost. "Put some clothes on while I finish my business with Skulker. _Then_ I'll deal with you."

            I saw Technus frown in thought out the corner of my eye as I faced the crippled hunter. "That's a very good idea!" The techno-ghost muttered, thankfully ducking out of sight.

            "Where did we leave off-?" I smiled at Skulker, who had only managed to get his suit halfway upright. "Oh, that's right. I was about to utterly _destroy_ you now."

            "The girl said she crippled you, whelp!" Skulker hissed, aiming what remained of his arsenal at me.

            I frowned at the hunter's mention of a girl. Skulker had been in contact with Valerie? When was this, and why would she claim I had been crippled? To my great disgust, I _had_ been severely beaten when I was driven into the Ghost Zone, but then how had Skulker been able to get out to talk to the huntress? Perhaps before I had shed my weakness then, before the portals had been sealed?

            "Hn... yes, I suppose she _did_ have me crippled once." I sneered in response, forming a green blast in one hand. "But I got better."

            Skulker shouted when my blast destroyed the rest of his suit, the little green ghost landing hard on the ground as metal bits and pieces rained down around him. I strolled over and plucked him up by one tiny green leg, making his expression shift to a rather ticked off cringe.

            "You'll pay for this, whelp!" Skulker shook a fist at me angrily, the mighty hunter's true voice thin and almost shrill compared to the deep rumble it was when he had his armor.

            "You know, it feels _so_ good to be the hunter instead of the hunted." I chuckled, thoroughly amused at Skulker's miniature struggle to break the grip of my thumb and forefinger.

            Before I could finish the hunter ghost off, something metallic arced in at my face from the edge of my field of vision, sparking and shocking me badly when it smashed into the side of my surprised face. That paralyzing shock persisted and intensified, making me yelp out in pain as my body spasmed from the electrical current.

            "There's something different about him." I distantly heard Skulker's tiny voice over the crackling.

            "Just a few more minutes, and the ghost-child won't be getting in my way any more!" I heard Technus crowing with delight, laughing that stupid laugh of his.

            With great effort, I brought one twitching arm around to point roughly in the direction of the technological spook. I couldn't gather myself enough for a large blast, but it was sufficient to send Technus flying, if the sound of his yelp and subsequent impact with the wall was any indication. Instantly the pain ceased, and I dropped to the floor, panting as I recovered my equilibrium. I spun around, glaring death at the ghost, who was picking himself up from a pile of junk.

            "Very impressive." Technus remarked, striking an imposing figure as the junk began to whirl around him, forming quickly into a black and green mechanical armor. "But you won't beat me in my own lair, surrounded by beautiful techn-"

            I didn't wait to let the long-winded spook finish, flying up and punching his mechanical abomination hard enough to knock the head unit clean off, one foot kicking a hole right through the torso of the thing. With an indignant cry, Technus and his new battle body fell over backwards, scattering junk all over the room.

            "A _stunning_ performance." Skulker hovered a short distance away, the tiny green ghost's arms crossed as he surveyed Technus, clearly unimpressed.

            "As if _you_ did any better?" Technus retorted, getting his headless machine back on its feet. I watched the exchange, bemused by their bickering.

            " _I_ at least know how to use a battle armor." Skulker declared, gesturing roughly in my direction as he continued. "It took him more than a **single shot** to destroy my suit."

            "What, do you think you could do any better with my battle body?" Technus growled. "I'd like to see you try!"

            "Ahem." I cleared my throat, getting the attention of both ghosts. "Much as your bickering amuses me, it doesn't much matter. You're _both_ toast."

            Skulker seemed to finally realize at last that I fully meant to destroy them both, for he darted into the gap where the head of the machine had been. "Fine, idiot. Let me drive!"

            I jumped out of the way as everything metallic in the room lifted into the air, including the broken remains of Skulker's suit. Technus and Skulker were shouting orders and insults at each other as Technus repaired his mechanical battle suit around the both of them. When the rhetorical smoke cleared, the two ghosts stood in a black and green suit that looked rather unsettlingly like a combination of Skulker's armor and one of Technus's monstrosities. I glared my displeasure at the black metal of Skulker's new face, and then down at the rough porthole in the thing's chest, where Technus's sneering mug could be seen.

            To my surprise, the thing turned and blasted out the door and into the distance, Technus yelling angrily at Skulker about running away instead of giving me a most thorough pants-kicking. Amused and annoyed, I flew after them. So Skulker had some brains after all, and knew when it was better to run away, did he? I can't say that I objected to the reversal of our previous predator-prey relationship. The idea of hunting _him_ was immensely pleasing, and getting rid of Technus would be a benefit to anyone and everyone.

            Something large and green leapt into my field of vision, and at the speeds I was traveling at I had no time to stop. I crashed headlong into the fuzzy green mass and tumbled head over heels with whatever it was I'd hit.

            "Gah, get **off** me!" I growled, shoving the ghost away, but not before something slimy had passed over my face several times.

            "Arf!"

            _No, it can't be that mutt._ Despite my thoughts, once I got the brilliant green goop off my face, I could see quite clearly it was, in fact, that mutt. I had been pounced by the dog in his larger and certainly more ferocious looking form, but as I glared daggers, he shrank to his deceptively harmless looking smaller form, yapping with delight.

            "What are _you_ doing here?" I growled, annoyed that the interruption had enabled both Skulker and Technus to escape. The dog barked happily, sitting up on his hind legs, tail wagging like a miniature green whip.

            Just looking at the little monster made my ire rise. It was that little beast's fault that Valerie ended up hating ghosts in the first place. The cheesehead could never have gotten her into hunting ghosts were it not for Cujo's contribution of wrecking her life and giving her a reason to have a vendetta against ghosts, myself in particular.

            "Arf!" Cujo ran over to me, the little ghost leaping into my arms and licking at my face happily, splattering glowing green dog drool all over my suit. The little beast was sickeningly adorable and mindlessly happy to see me. How dare the dog presume I wanted anything to do with him after he set things in motion that had led to Valerie hunting me down. I set the green dog down and looked at the ghost. I wanted to, oh how I _longed_ to just raise a hand and blast the monster into oblivion.

            But I _couldn't_. Some tiny shred of my weakness remained with me yet, that fact alone increasing my rage. The mutt and I stared at each other for several long moments before I settled on a course of action. If I couldn't yet bring myself to simply annihilate Cujo, I could at the very least get him out of my sight and discourage the beast from returning. I smiled at the dog, charging some energy into my foot. With the ectoplasmic boost, it would be enough to send the little ghost flying for miles.

            "Arf!" Cujo yapped, tail wagging as I pulled back. The yap quickly turned into a high-pitched squeal of pain as my foot slammed into his chest, the arcing follow-through launching the dog into the distance, his howl of pain fading after several minutes.

            Some of the green energy hung in the air still, slowly whirling into a circular pattern. I frowned as I studied this unusual phenomena, my powers had never caused an effect like this before. I raised one hand, gathering some more energy and projecting it at the rotating vortex, which whirled more solidly, almost like...

            "... A portal?" I asked no one, a smirk starting to come to my face. My powers always _did_ seem to develop in response to an immediate necessity. At that moment, my greatest need was a way out of the Ghost Zone, and it appeared that my powers had developed a means to create one after months spent sitting in Walker's jail. I poured more power into the strange vortex and watched it expand to a foot in diameter, then two, until it was easily as wide as the portal in my parents' lab or in the cheesehead's basement.

            I poked my head through the thing, and smiled widely when I saw the outskirts of Amity Park spread below me, blissfully unaware of my extremely imminent return. I chuckled as I flew through my new portal and studied the scene below me. Amity Raceway, a large racing facility some rich idiot thought was a good idea. Even from where I hovered, I could hear the roar of engines as the racers motored around the oval track. I had never attended any races, but occasionally other events were held at the facility. It would be a perfect warm-up, and would likely get Valerie's immediate attention.

            I selected the lead car as my target and fired a green beam down from above, watching the vehicle skid out of control to avoid the shot and causing a chain reaction as panic spread through the stadium stands like a massive fleshy wave. I floated to the ground and daintily touched down on one of the race cars, smiling widely as I pointed one hand down and pumped the fuel tank full of explosive ectoplasmic energy. I allowed myself to be flung into the air by the explosion, lobbing energy blasts at other cars on the track which were trying to get away, their race since forgotten. This was certainly _far_ more entertaining than their earlier driving in glorified circles. Who wants to pay money to watch a bunch of cars going around in circles anyway? Within minutes the entire place was in chaos, stadium seating pockmarked with blast holes, people running everywhere, people lying sprawled in pieces where they hadn't been able to get away from my blasts. It was beautiful.

            I was paying attention to the sky, assuming that Valerie had to have either heard the explosions or seen the news or _somehow_ found out I was back. I expected her to show up any moment with her jet sled and guns. I did _not_ expect to be shot in the rear by an ecto-bazooka from below. I growled at the discomfort and spun around, expecting the stupid girl to have tried to sneak up from below.

            "Open fire! Burn his eyes out!" Paulina shrieked, clad in an orange and black jumpsuit reminiscent of those absurd outfits I'd talked everyone into wearing when we fought off Ember and Youngblood some time ago. The Latina was joined by several similarly-dressed idiots, all pointing assorted ecto-weapons at me.

            "Oh _please_." I muttered, landing a short distance from the little troop. "Where's your little ringleader? I thought she would be the first one here, not a group of second-rate cheerleaders with pretty toys."

            " _Second-rate_?!" Paulina hissed at me, firing that bazooka again. I sidestepped the blast, only to be caught in the flank by a beam from one of the other teens. "I'll show you what this _toy_ can do!"

            I admit, for a vapid ex-cheerleader, Paulina had a surprisingly accurate aim. Indeed, most of these uniformly-clad would-be ghost hunters had improved since my first time trying to destroy all these reminders of my past. I ducked and dodged through an impressive flurry of blasts, surrounded on all sides now. A few of the shots did connect, but they only stung slightly, not at all like the last time the teens and bolder adults of Amity Park had attempted to gang up on me before.

            I was irritated at Valerie's continued absence. All of these idiots would need to be destroyed, true; but Valerie had a special priority. I launched a quick blast, a circular green shockwave that whipped over the terrain and knocked many of the hunters to the ground. They knew where my intended victim was, so I would simply need to beat it out of them before I consigned them to oblivion. I swept forward and caught a fistful of Paulina's jumpsuit, arcing skyward with the Latina while the group of hunters recovered from my first attack.

            "Now then..." I sneered as she shrieked what I assume were assorted obscenities in Spanish. "Perhaps you know the answer to a question I have."

            The girl ceased her squirming and glared at me, her blue eyes narrowed to predatory slits. Were she a ghost, I would have expected her to be firing beams from her eyes with an expression that intense. "What makes you think I'll answer your question after everything you did?" She snapped, unfazed or unaware of the extremely fatal plunge that only my fist was preventing.

            "I don't know. Maybe because I'm holding you about a thousand feet in the air." I shrugged, Paulina bobbing up briefly with my arm motion and letting out a startled yelp. "Where is she?"

            "Where's who?" Paulina snarled, though I could tell that she had realized just how high in the air we were, given she had gone pale beneath her dark complexion.

            " _Valerie_." I murmured, the name full of all the loathing I felt for the huntress, the source of so much of my misery in the past. Paulina flinched at the sight of my fangs, everything about me intimidating despite the fact that the Latina still had an inch or so of height over me.

            "Why are you so fixated on Valerie?" Paulina growled, her eyes darting back and forth, looking for something.

            "Why do you think?" I smirked, my free hand held up and cradling a small green energy blast. "I want to _tear her apart,_ I want to make her _pay_ for everything. And if you won't tell me where she is, you're of no more use to me."

            I'm not quite sure what happened immediately after that. I heard Paulina make a noise like an angry cat, and she twisted in my grip in a way I hadn't thought possible. The next instant I felt five razor sharp talons digging into my face before I reflexively turned intangible. She _clawed_ me! The little witch _clawed_ me like some sort of oversized cat with a scratching post!

            I heard Paulina's scream as she plummeted, ignoring an old twinge that urged me to dive to the rescue. It would serve her right to be splattered all over the ground. Perhaps had things gone differently, I _might_ have let her live. The Latina was no replacement for Sam or Maddie, but she certainly was not unpleasant to look at, despite all the bad memories she brought up. But she chose badly, and would pay the price for her error.

            I turned solid again as I watched her plunge, my amused smile turning to a displeased scowl when a green and silver blur shot beneath the girl, a hatch in the flying cylinder flung open to safely stop her fall. My scowl deepened when I recognized what had saved her. The Specter Speeder, one of my parents' own devices that was now clearly in the hands of people under Valerie's command.

            I sidestepped to the left and right of an energy blast from one of the guns on board the flying ship, splitting myself without hardly a thought. I dove toward the street to start flattening the hunters on the ground, while I also flew at the Speeder, intent on trashing the device and anyone inside it. To my dismay, those on the ground scattered widely among the debris like dozens of little insects scurrying for cover. I blasted out the ones I was able to locate, precision blasts being simply less taxing to my reserves than the massive energy blasts I used to destroy large structures.

            The Speeder sideslipped and plunged beneath one of my blasts; clearly the pilot had been flying for some time, or was a techno-geek with a natural talent for flying bizarre contraptions. The device fired at me as it shot beneath me, the blast missing but the craft's jet wake sending me tumbling briefly. I flipped over midair and fired several small blasts at the craft, but the pilot was clever enough to narrowly slip through the volley, rockets roaring as it spun around to face me and return the favor.

            I let my duplicate vanish rather than waste more energy taking or evading hits, my frustration mounting. The hunters were well-coordinated, and it would take some time to flush them all out. So I turned my attention to a more convenient series of targets, less organized, unarmed, and panicked. With a laugh I launched myself into the air, aiming larger green blasts into the crowds of people fleeing the battle. A car here, a school bus there, a well-aimed blast to the side of a tall building; the hunters would _have_ to show themselves if they wanted to try and protect the innocent civilians. I laughed when I threw a blast into a crowd of people fleeing a building that had caught fire from a tanker I detonated. The crowd of businessmen and women went flying in all directions, those nearest the blast the most direly wounded, thrown to the ground to bleed out their last.

            Words fail me to describe how wonderful it felt to lose myself in the senseless destruction. I could have stopped easily, I didn't _have_ to set about destroying everything that reminded me of the past. But I did, and it was nothing short of euphoria to do so. No longer was my fate to be determined by meager chance and dumb luck. I was my own master, serving no one else, free to do whatever I wished, with no cause for care or concern about the consequences.

            Laughing, I chased a group of terrified people down the street, deliberately aiming my shots to narrowly miss them, whipping them into a frenzied panic. They jostled for position, nearly trampling one another in their hurry to get away. Of course, I suppose because I was focusing on them I was _not_ paying enough attention to the FentonWorks building a few miles away. After all, what did I have to fear from FentonWorks?

            Oh, that's right, the anti-ghost shield. I had forgotten that particular device until I slammed face-first into the bright green barrier, my intended victims now sheltered from my blasts by the glowing dome. I backed a few feet away from the expanding shield, snarling my displeasure.

            I continued my rampage throughout the day and into the night, with admittedly little rhyme or reason to it. I saw a building that was standing, I blew it up. I saw people running, I blasted them, toyed with them, and yes, _killed_ them. Ghost hunters tried to shoot me, so I dodged as best as I could, blocked what I couldn't dodge, and exterminated them with extreme prejudice. Really, I was trying to kill time until Valerie showed her face and I could make her pay.

            Things took a turn for the entertaining sometime the next day: early in the afternoon I was met with national guard troops who stood no chance against me, being less adequately armed than even the idiot ghost hunters were. In addition to the civilians, now I had armored trucks to play target practice with. As the day wore on, tanks joined the fray, their shells arguably doing more damage to the surrounding terrain than anything else. Intangibility is truly a wonderful ability; why settle for being bulletproof when you don't even need to take the impact in the first place?

            Valerie _had_ to show up, there was simply no way that witch would stand for what I was doing. She had brought herself to shoot me in the guise of my weakness, she had been able to shoot _Danny Fenton_ in the face, I sincerely doubted she would merely run away from me now. Not after she had orchestrated that counterattack nearly two years ago when I had first shed my weakness. I simply had to do enough damage to lure her from whatever hole she was hiding in.

            I had taken to staying near the shield so that my chances of toasting people were greater. They had to get past _me_ to get to the safety of that blasted shield. It worked relatively well, though it limited how much of the surrounding city I was able to reduce to ruin. There would be time for property damage later, once the opposition was laid to waste.

            I caught sight of movement in my periphial vision and half-turned to face and blast whatever was trying to come from my blind spot. I was momentarily blinded by sunlight, and something metallic slammed into my forehead, knocking me down with an annoyed grunt. I heard the approaching roar of rocket engines- the Specter Speeder again.

            "What _stupidity_ is **this**?" I growled as I got to my feet, grabbing the apparently useless device and stifling a groan when I realized what it was. "The _BOOmerang_? What sort of _idiot_ tries to hunt ghosts with this stupidly named piece of _junk_?"

            Apparently, the same sort of idiot who uses the Specter Speeder to sideswipe a ghost against an anti-ghost shield. It _hurt_ when the Speeder skidded sideways, smashing into me and driving me painfully into the FentonWorks shield. I heard a hatch on the device hiss open and voices as the pilot apparently bailed out, seconds before I charged energy into my fists and detonated the entire contraption in a brilliant green explosion. I admit I used more energy in the blast than was strictly necessary, but it was a reflex, a defensive action. I imagine most people would have responded in such an overkill manner in my situation.

            I strolled casually from the wreckage of the Speeder, fists both charged with blasts ready to launch. I heard the high-pitched whine of jet engines, and looked up, searching for the source of the new yet familiar sound. I smiled wide when my gaze locked on to _her_ angry face, smiled when her face contorted into an enraged expression and she opened fire, a rain of pink blasts that I took care to avoid as I flew to her level.

            "I was wondering when you'd show up, Valerie." I sneered, studying her. It had been two years, after all. She had gained some height, her hair still pulled back in the same manner it always had been. She was wearing a form-fitting red and black bodysuit that left her face exposed...

            "When I'm through with you-" Valerie hissed, pointing a pair of unfamiliar ecto-blasters at me and firing several blasts at me with them. "-you'll **wish** you _could_ die, ghost!"

            I was surprised by the speed and accuracy of her shots, and a few of the beams did hit. That wasn't what surprised me; these weapons hurt more than anything the other hunters had been using. And her jet sled was of an unfamiliar design...

            "So that cheesehead enemy of mine _survived_ after all?" I assumed out loud, my displeasure patently clear. That idiot should have been dead at least half a dozen different ways! "When I'm through with _you_ and your little friends, I'll have to remedy that error."

            She said something, but the words were lost in an angry shout from below and a fresh hailstorm of emerald and ruby beam blasts. I think I heard Paulina's voice, the cheerleader again making some remark about violence against my eyes. Always the face, why? I dodged through the rain of energy bolts, Valerie lost amid the confusion briefly before I located her again, rising into the air to face me.

            "This time this _will_ be finished." I declared, smiling at the simple fact as I chased the girl, preceded by a machinegun burst of ecto-blasts. "You don't have a portal handy to throw me into this time!"

            Valerie skirted my bolts, her pretty face twisted into an enraged snarl as she blazed past me, so near that her passing nearly knocked me over. "You got that right, Phantom! It's gonna get finished alright!"

            I narrowly avoided the blast she tried to put into my head at close range, and turned to face her after she shot past and turned her sled around to face me again. Oh, this would be fun, the idiot hunter seemed to have her nerve back in spades. It was a far cry from the upset and guilt-ridden little girl she had been during our previous encounter.

            "Well, well. You've gotten your old spunk back." I smirked at Valerie, shrugging nonchalantly in response to her rage. "Reminds you of the old days, doesn't it? The battles on the way to school-"

            She interrupted me, both verbally and with another blast from her weapons. "Shut UP! Danny's dead because of you, and I won't rest until I _tear you **apart**_!"

            I quirked an eyebrow. So she knew about the fate of my weakness then? I suppose it only makes sense. She had clearly been in contact with my idiot cheesehead archenemy, the only witness to the destruction of my useless humanity. I smirked at her, unable to resist the urge to respond to her fury with suitably witty banter.

            "Will that be limb-from-limb or molecule-by-molecule?" I inquired in too-dry a tone as I dodged through her firestorm. To this day I don't know why I didn't simply blast her. Instead I hauled back and threw an ordinary punch, catching her squarely in the shoulder and tumbling her from her fancy new jet sled. Knowing her tactics, I quickly caught hold of the machine, holding it firm as I watched Valerie plummet to her certain demise.

            Considering she was plunging toward decidedly solid ground, the demented smirk on her face was rather confusing. I thought she'd simply snapped now that she was faced with her imminent death, but I was not so fortunate. She did something with her shoes, and before I knew it, she had stopped her fall, standing atop the distinct form of her older jet sled. Before I knew it, I was holding my burned wrist and she was recovering the newer sled.

            "I swear." I howled, charging at the huntress, intent on ripping her apart, molecule by molecule if necessary. "When I find that cheesehead, I am going to tear Vlad into more pieces than I did my _useless_ human self!"

            I was brought up short by several blasts from the other hunters below, and the little witch capitalized on the chance, lunging at me, the fists of her suit glowing pink with energy. She literally leapt at me, forgoing her sled to bodily tackle me. Needless to say, one doesn't generally expect such an insane maneuver from a mere human, and she was able to land several charged punches to my midsection and my face- as always, the face!- before I dislodged her and sent her flying through the air.

            "Well just remember that you're _part_ -cheesehead too, ghost!" She snapped at me as her sled deftly caught her.

            I snarled a wordless curse. So she knew the whole story then, did she? I chased her, my best shot only managing to scorch that mane of hers. The dogfight likely looked like it was straight from a comic book, an awful lot of wild aerial maneuvers but little to show for it. She barreled out of the way of my blasts, strafing me from a few hundred feet off. I easily deflected the blows- those ecto-shields were a very handy ability.

            Granted, they don't do much if you're shielding in front of you, and someone decides to shoot you in the rear. Something scorched my backside, causing me to yelp, both hands covering the injured area out of reflex. Valerie seemed to be likewise surprised, so I spun to see who thought they were being so very clever. I very nearly groaned when I saw the flawless white suits, two men standing amid the wreckage and pointing weapons up at me. The Guys in White, perhaps the only two ghost hunters in the world _less_ capable than my parents?

            "Well, here I thought I'd already swatted all the government bugs." I sneered as I dove to attend the two idiots, Valerie momentarily forgotten.

            It didn't take long- one blast to knock one of them down, and I was there, blasting the other one quickly and easily into a fine vapor. I was about to give his teammate the same treatment except that Valerie was shooting at me again, nearly slamming into me with that sled as she flew overhead.

            "You forget about me, ghost?" She snapped as the wake of her passing played havoc with my flaming hair.

            I snarled at the agent, he looked like he'd had something more than just a cleanliness breach. "I guess I'll deal with _you_ later."

            I shot into the air after Valerie, skirmishing across the ruins. It was _exhilarating_ , the thrill of being so near to destroying the annoying girl, of having to work at it. She was a challenge, an opponent with the skills apparently to level the playing field against my power. But I would triumph in the end, and she would perish.

            "This game can't go on forever, Valerie." I smiled wickedly, licking my lips at the thought of the coming slaughter. "You've got to wear down sometime. You're only _human_ after all."

            "And _you're_ just a ghost." She snapped in response, several shots finding their mark and knocking me backwards. I quickly recovered and lobbed a large spherical blast at her, the explosion reminiscent of those I had used on Vlad's castle and Walker's jail.

            "Yes, and I don't have to bother with silly problems of sustenance or sleep, or burdensome _feelings_ like kindness or heroism." I grinned as she dodged the blast and I lunged at her. "I'm free to do what I want, while you're trapped by your silly concerns."

            "Well I'd rather be trapped by my _silly_ concerns than be a psychotic ghost who's all _lonely_ and **bitter** about what he _lost_!" Valerie hissed at me.

            I stopped dead midair. How _dare_ she talk about that? I had lost everything! _Everything_ , and she dared to throw it in my face! I trusted her with my secret, was it not enough that she betrayed me when I needed her the most? She had to rub it in, flaunt my loss in my face, _gloat_ that my parents and my two best friends were so much ash blasted into the stratosphere? I clenched my fists, tight enough that had I been human I would likely have drawn blood from my palms. Energy crackled around them, miniature green lightning bolts. I would kill her, rip her limb from limb, tear her apart until what remained would be an unrecognizable mess of shredded flesh!

            "This isn't about _my_ problems, Valerie." I told her, my voice held entirely too level as I charged the blast that would be an order of magnitude more powerful than anything I had done before. "This is about _your_ problems. Namely the fact that you're _still breathing_."

            I resumed my lunge, not heeding the cruel smirk on that witch's face, she was clearly enjoying herself, taunting me with my loss. I expected her to fire at me, make some other remark to anger me further, perhaps to dupe me into making a stupid mistake. I didn't realize she already _had_ until her sled went silent and she plummeted along with the thing, my attack missing her entirely. From behind where she had been hovering, her accursed old sled shot forward, I was utterly unaware of the thing until it plowed into my face, blasters catching me point-blank in the eyes and blinding me. I howled at the pain, stunned by the tactic. Had it simply been the sled and Valerie, I would have swiftly recovered and retaliated.

            In a moment, my world was consumed entirely by red and green fire, an inferno of ecto-weaponry. If asked, I would be unable to sufficiently describe the pain, weapons searing my body, ecto-bullets ripping into me, scorching my jumpsuit and tearing into me, causing terrible wounds oozing green ectoplasm. I would almost hazard to say it was agony on par with the pain of my creation, that fusion of two inferior minds into a single superior being.

            I consider it nearly miraculous that I _was_ able to concentrate through all that pain, and gather enough energy to form a portal. I had to escape, clearly my power was not yet great enough to do what I needed to accomplish, so I had to retreat. The idea was incredibly bitter, but I was not going to be stupid about it, not with my survival at stake. Infuriated, I slipped through the small portal, the silence of the Ghost Zone a welcome relief from the maelstrom I had just escaped. My wounds ached terribly, but they _would_ mend, and there was little I had to fear in the Ghost Zone. All my enemies in the ghost realm were no match for me, even as injured as I was.

            I floated there for a long moment, enjoying the silence before I felt a chill and gasped, nearly sneezing as a red vapor escaped through my nose. My ghost sense?

            "So..." I heard a calm voice behind me, laden with a sort of smug patience. "You're Danny Phantom, the evil ghost that everyone has been talking about."


	8. Rage

**Rage**

I whirled around, taking a fighting stance as I spun to confront whoever thought to ambush me. It was a ghost I did not recognize, slender from old age, white beard nearly trailing to where his feet would have been had if he'd had any. A jagged scar ran across one brow, but the better part of his head was obscured by the cloak he was wearing. He didn't appear overly threatening, only carrying a slim staff with a clock in one end. On further examination, the ghost did seem to have a fondness for time pieces, wearing several watches and seemingly carrying a large pendulum clock in his chest.

            "Who are you and what do you want?" I muttered, wiping goo from one of my many injuries.

            Without so much as a raised eyebrow, the ghost transformed, now resembling a toddler, complete with two large front teeth. "I am Clockwork, master of time. I've heard a great deal about your antics."

            "Come to stop me then?" I growled, firing an energy beam at the ghost.

            "I suppose that would be ideal." His voice came from behind me, and I whirled again, to find him in yet a third form, that of a healthy twenty-something man. Not that I am any judge of it, but I suppose this Clockwork could be described as rather classically handsome in that form, in between the two extremes of youth and age. Well, as handsome as an 'odd manifestation of ectoplasmic energy and post-human consciousness' could be, at any rate.

            "If you know so much about my _antics_ ," I bit out, trying to ignore my injuries for the moment. "Then you should know better than to mess with me!"

            I fired another blast, but to my frustration the ghost seemed almost to teleport. He was in front of me, and then he was not; he was behind me again, chuckling dryly at my frustration. "I am not here to fight you, Danny. I only wished to speak with you." The ghost stated, avoiding more of my blasts.

            Given I was in rather poor condition already thanks to my recent encounter with Valerie, and since this Clockwork didn't seem overly hostile, I lowered my fists, the dangerous glow fading. I couldn't explain why, but there was something immensely irritating about the ghost's demeanor, a sort of smug know-it-all attitude that reminded me slightly of the cheesehead. "So speak."

            "It's not too late to change your future." Clockwork stated simply. "And I believe you won't like the results if you refuse to change your ways."

            "Change my ways?" I snapped. "I'm perfectly happy the way I am."

            "Really?" Clockwork raised one eyebrow, tone implying his doubt. "If you're no longer troubled by 'burdensome feelings', then how could you be happy? Or are you merely refusing to acknowledge your own emotions, warped as they are?"

            He did have something resembling a point, I admit. I was no longer consumed by grief and guilt, right? If I was truly free of those useless emotions, it would make sense that happiness ought to be gone with the rest of them. What _was_ this ghost trying to do? What did he mean about my allegedly 'warped emotions' that I apparently wasn't accepting? I had little patience for his mind games.

            "What are you getting at?" I hissed at the ghost, considering trying to blast him again.

            "It's not too late to change the future." Clockwork reiterated his apparent point. "Unless you want to see everything and everyone you care about destroyed."

            That was it? That was his point? Clearly this ghost wasn't as on top of the latest news as he thought he was. He was a little too late with this revelation, given that everyone I cared about had _already_ been dead for a few years. "You're a little late with that, Clocky. I already _saw_ everyone I cared about destroyed."

            "As I am well aware." Clockwork stated, perfectly patient in the face of my increasing annoyance. "And if you continue living your life this way, you will probably see it again."

            I dare say my expression bordered on abject confusion at that declaration. "What _are_ you blathering about?" I managed to ask through my bewilderment. "Again? They're dead, gone, the fat lady has sung."

            "I suppose it is too much for you to understand in your current state." Clockwork shook his head slightly. "Very well, we will have to do this the hard way."

            I braced for a fight, but the ghost merely clicked a button on his staff. Then he was gone, almost as if he'd never been there. I spun around looking for him, expecting an attack and quite honestly wanting a good fight to flush out my frustration. What did that ghost mean with his cryptic nonsense? They were all dead, there wasn't so much as a recognizable shred of flesh left of my family and friends. To my relief and annoyance, it seemed that Clockwork had simply vanished away entirely.

            With no immediate threats looming, I drifted through the Ghost Zone, looking for a suitably secluded place where I could hole up until my injuries were mended. It had taken several months in Walker's prison to recover the first time. Granted, the way the guards and Walker routinely smacked me around did little to accelerate the process. I needed someplace secure and deserted, where I wouldn't be unpredictably attacked while vulnerable. I smiled, an idea coming to me. There was one place virtually all ghosts dared not go, a place that would serve ironically well as my new lair.

            Pariah's Keep.

            The fortress was largely as it was when I had fought the ghost king years ago. Inhospitable, empty, and certainly eerie. I could even still see the large trenches that had been carved into the stone floor by the Ecto-Skeleton's oversized feet. A shame that the cheesehead never finished his upgrade of the device. I fondly recalled the vast power that had been at my command with the suit, the massive energy blasts capable of detonating several city blocks worth of terrain. If I had been capable of such feats in my weakness, it was delightful to imagine what I would be capable of _now_ with that particular piece of equipment.

            But that was little more than an idle daydream. Like so many other things in my past, it was surely no more than ruin now, a burned out hull long since departed from its former glory. I only had the here and now, and my aching wounds for company as I surveyed the silent fortress. The Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep stood where I last recalled it, locked tight and clearly undisturbed, and the Fright Knight was nowhere to be seen.

            There wasn't a great deal to do while I waited. I spied the ghost king's empty throne, and decided to add further insult to Pariah's defeat by getting quite comfortable in the oversized chair. At which point my injuries finally took their toll, and I somewhat lost consciousness. I must have been out for several days, perhaps even several weeks, as my wounds were in much better condition when I awoke to a disturbance in my adopted lair.

            "I thought you said you were taking me somewhere special, Johnny!"

            "I did! Just you and me, Kitten, alone together-"

            "-In the ghost king's fortress! What if he wakes up?"

            "He's not gonna wake up! Don't you trust me?"

            I raised an eyebrow as I listened to the bickering from a neighboring room. I knew those voices. Johnny 13 and his quarrelsome girlfriend Kitty, both ghosts who had caused me considerable personal grief with their relationship problems. I smiled as I lifted myself from Pariah's throne, charging a small blast in one hand. I suppose it would be a favor if I ended their bickering forever. At the very least, the biker and his shadow would make an excellent warm-up exercise before I resumed my pursuit of Valerie's destruction. I floated to the heavy wooden door, a snappy one-liner primed and ready.

            "You never care about how _I_ feel! It's always about you and your stupid shadow!"

            "Whoa, Kitty, hold on! I'll be better, I promise! C'mon, just gimme another chance!"

            I was about to throw the door open and fire off the aforementioned one-liner when the door was flung open from the other side rather unexpectedly and I found myself standing eye-to-eye with a very startled Kitty. We both stopped, largely from the unexpectedness of it. My plan had been to open the door, shoot off a one-liner about waking up something _worse_ than the ghost king, and then blasting the two ghosts into oblivion. Simple plan, very easy to remember, but very easy to derail.

            "Danny-?" Kitty yelped, clearly not having expected to find me there in the midst of the lovers' quarrel. "What are you doing here-?"

            I could see Johnny in the room past Kitty, sitting on the floor with the markings of a slap showing nearly pink on the biker's face. He spotted me and narrowed his eyes, glaring daggers. I was surprised he hadn't opted to sic his stupid shadow on me yet. "What's that punk doing here? Kitty?"

            I frowned, not catching whatever the greasy ghost was hinting at about my presence. Clearly neither had heard the news about my exploits in destroying Walker's prison, otherwise I doubt they would have been so calm about the encounter. "I was minding my own business." I snapped, ignoring Kitty and not noticing the sly look on her face as she closed the remaining distance.

            "What do you _think_ he's doing here, Johnny?" Kitty purred, leaning close.

            "What were the two of _you_ do-MMPH!"

            Of all things, I was **not** expecting _that_. Kitty abruptly latched onto me and very nearly knocked me to the floor as she pressed her lips against mine. And I stupidly _sat_ there while she did it, and while she started exploring my mouth with her _tongue_. Through my shock, I heard Johnny's angry shout, but I was still trying to process the fact I had some female ghost on top of me trying to play tonsil hockey. Kitty finally came up for air, smiled at me, and ran a finger in circles lightly against my chest. "Just play along. Johnny's been a total jerk, so I want to make him jealous." She whispered. "You call it a fake-out make-out, right?"

            Furious, I leapt back up, throwing the female ghost off and into the wall hard enough that she left a Kitty-shaped dent in the stone. "That still has the words _make_ and _out_ in it!" I hissed. "How dare you try to use _me_ in your stupid lovers' quarrels!"

            "Kitty-!" Johnny was over by the wall helping his bruised girlfriend to her feet in a flash before he turned to glare daggers at me. "I don't know what's up with you, punk, but you pick a fight with my girl, you pick a fight with me, dig?"

            "Oh _please_." I sneered, fists already glowing and ready for a fight. "You honestly think you stand a chance?"

            "Shadow!" Johnny pointed in my direction as his shadow flitted up from the ground with a growl. "Attack!"

            I sidestepped the black mass as it shot forward, almost lazily firing a green blast after it. I was still a far cry from fully recovered, but I had regained more than enough power to deal with Johnny 13 and his useless shadow. The blast only put a small hole in the formless black spook, which quickly filled back in as it turned to face me again, white fangs gleaming in stark contrast to its black body.

            "Honestly, you would have had a better chance of surviving this if you'd just run away-" I began to declare when I felt a stabbing pain in my shoulder. I snarled, one hand grasping at the injury as I spun around to see what caused the ache.

            Johnny stood there with a sneer on his greasy face, a shiny switchblade coated now with glowing green goo held in one hand. "What was that, kid?"

            "Get 'im, Johnny!" Kitty cried from the sidelines.

            I narrowed my eyes as I glared at the ghost, reaching instinctively behind me and catching Shadow by the throat as the black spook tried to take me from behind. The knife wound ached considerably, but it was minor compared to what I'd endured in the past. I watched Johnny's confident smirk drop as I charged a large quantity of energy into my fist, the green glow surrounding Shadow and holding the spook in place. Green escalated to blindingly white, and I heard the biker's shadow cry out in pain before it dissipated, reforming helplessly as an actual shadow at Johnny's feet.

            "M-my shadow-!" The biker yelped, beginning to clearly realize how outclassed he was.

            "Johnny, look out-!" Kitty shouted, her warning a bit too slow to do her boyfriend any good.

            Johnny whirled around just in time to see me flying at him, bodyslamming him against the stone wall. I didn't give him a chance to recover, floating back a few feet and launching a machinegun volley of small energy blasts at him. I was displeased to find I couldn't quite summon enough power just yet to simply blow the ghost away entirely, but this would suffice. Enraged by my actions, Kitty lunged like an oversized cat, ready to try her claws out. I barely spared the obnoxious ghost a second glance, raising one hand in her direction and blasting her back against the wall.

            "When you pick a fight with _me-_ " I smiled wickedly at Johnny's prone form as he slid to the floor in a mangled heap. "-you say hello to oblivion, _dig_?"

            Johnny struggled to try and get upright, but it seemed his mangled legs wouldn't hold his weight. Kitty hobbled over to her boyfriend, both watching me with scared eyes as I stalked forward, fists glowing. Something slammed into me from the side, the impact sending me through the wall before I recovered my trajectory.

            "C'mon, we don't have much time!"

            "I'm moving, I'm moving!"

            "Well hurry up, Tucker! If he gets back here before we get out of here, we're _all_ toast!"

            I must have been hearing the muffled voices wrong. Two new voices, both sounding uncomfortably familiar as I dug out of the rubble and proceeded to the room where Johnny and Kitty were. An unfamiliar vehicle was parked in the room, having knocked in the far wall, and two ghosts were helping haul Johnny and Kitty into it. I admit, the sight stopped me in my tracks, they'd been dead for some time already, how could they possibly be there in the Ghost Zone?

            "You-!" I gasped around my surprise at the two figures, so impossibly familiar. The green-skinned one slammed a hatch shut on the strange vehicle, while the one with the blue complexion spun to face me, violet eyes wide.

            There was little doubt. It had to be Sam and Tucker, or some passable manifestation of my two friends, busy loading my two most recent victims up and apparently aiming to make some sort of getaway. "You can't be here!"

            The black-clad female ghost put her hands on her hips and floated there glaring at me as the vehicle behind her revved up. "... What are you going to do, Danny? Vaporize us?" Her tone was laden with bitter sarcasm.

            "You're supposed to be dead! Both of you!" I growled. "I killed you all!"

            That was the truth, was it not? It was my fault they had all died, therefore it wasn't a stretch to say that I had killed them myself. The ghost matched my glare with one of her own.

            "And you should be too!" She snapped, and I spied tears on her face. "After what you did to-!"

            Was she referring to the death of my weakness? Of that useless human half I had torn apart? How would she know about that? She had been dead for at least a week by the time of the operation that created me.

            "You want to join that useless fool in oblivion?" I snarled, not understanding how they could be there, not believing they could really be my friends. They were nothing more than poor manifestations, certainly not the real thing. I had no friends, they were all dead and gone.

            "Danny, why won't you come to your senses?" Sam pleaded. "We're your friends, the Danny I know would _never_ act this way."

            "The Danny you knew has been dead for a long time." I growled, charging a blast. "And you shouldn't exist anymore. I'll have to fix that, won't I?"

            Sam sighed heavily. "I was afraid you'd react this way. Tucker, hit it!"

            The vehicle, a black and green contraption that looked to be a salvaged Ghost Zone Police van revved up, a large turret on top spinning to face me. Tucker's voice emanated over the loudspeaker. "Hitting it!"

            I raised a shield, expecting an attack. Instead the weapon spewed a thick green fog that quickly filled the room and clouded my vision. I found myself coughing from the murk, trying desperately to fan the fumes away from my face and losing sight of my intended targets. I heard the van crash through a wall, and fired wildly in the direction of the sound. To my frustration, the haze cleared and revealed what I already knew: They had gotten away and I had no idea where they had gone.

            I stormed through the hole they'd knocked in the wall, glaring at the green expanse beyond, annoyed at the escape of those ghosts. I could probably give chase, but I frankly didn't want to. Those faces, mocking me from the grave was not something I wished to see again. Not unless it was to destroy them and lay them permanently to rest.

            I raised one eyebrow as I began to take in the rest of the surrounding scenery, red wisps from my nose mingling with the dredges of the green smoke. Several ghosts had the castle surrounded, many goons I didn't recognize, and several familiar faces in the throng. I suppose I should be flattered that they went to such trouble to try and take me down.

            "There he is!" I heard Skulker's voice over the angry murmur.

            "We'll make the ghost-child pay for what he did!" I heard Technus voice agreement.

            The angry mob surged forward, a myriad of weapons primed. Well, if I couldn't take out my frustration on Valerie, or on those mocking ghost incarnations of Sam and Tucker, then these idiots would suffice. And there were an awful lot of said idiots. I smiled widely, showing my fangs, and lunged into the fray.

            I would like to say that it was an epic battle, an entire army against me, but that would be something of an exaggeration. By and large the nameless goons proved to be quite similar to Aragon's guards, a bunch of useless spooks hardly worth the trouble it took to vaporize them en masse. I was rapidly warming up from my apparently long nap, all those goons were good for was the equivalent to stretching before undertaking _real_ exercise.

            I was knocked off my feet and pinned to the ground by a massive green hand, and I quickly surmised that I couldn't simply phase through it or effectively break the thing's grip.

            "I wish that bully can't move so we can get rid of him for good!"

            "So you have wished it..."

            I'm certain my expression clearly said, "You have _got_ to be kidding me." Looming above me was the owner of the hand pinning me down: Desiree, that obnoxious wish-granting ghost. With a wave of her free hand, she worked her magic, and to my extreme displeasure I found myself paralyzed from the neck down. Floating next to her, in a rather stark contrast and an unusual pairing was Poindexter, that idiot black-and-white ghost from the 1950s.

            The other ghosts began to gather around, priming weapons or energy blasts of varying sorts. I didn't much relish the idea of receiving a Ghost Zone equivalent to the beating I had taken in Amity Park, but if I didn't figure out something rather quickly, I was going to. I tried to move my arms, tried to marshal the energy to blast my way out, to no effect.

            "You've interfered with my spells for the last time!" Desiree crowed.

            An idea hit me, and I smirked up at the genie. "I don't think so."

            "What do you think you can do, buster?" Poindexter frowned at me.

            "I wish-" I cleared my throat and addressed Desiree in an extremely smug tone. "-for you to cease existing."

            Her visible eye widened and she recoiled, releasing her hold on me, her expression terrified. "No!" She shrieked, squirming as the green mist that signaled her magic began to whirl about. "I.... I must obey. Nooooooooooo-!"

            I can only assume it was a painful way to go, Desiree's voice hit a nearly inaudible pitch as she shrieked and thrashed. If I hadn't been so stupid in my weakness, I would have thought of that years ago. Poindexter floated back from the flailing genie, a horrified expression on his pinched face as Desiree disappeared within a thick plume of her magical smoke. Within seconds, the mist cleared, and there was no sign of the wish-granting spook.

            With a cruel smile I felt my paralysis fade away and I was again in control of myself. I hardly spared Poindexter a second glance, firing a large blast at him as I took to the air again. With my resurgence, the remainder of the ghost army began to fall apart. The foolish stupidly kept trying to fight, and I know the smarter of my enemies chose wisely to abandon the battlefield. Skulker and Technus managed to shoot me with a strange palm-mounted weapon that largely only tingled when the blue beam struck.

            "And what was _that_ supposed to accomplish?" I sneered, firing a small blast that took one arm off the mechanical armor.

            "It didn't work?" Technus yelped, his face recoiling in surprise.

            "It should have shorted out his powers!" Skulker also yelped. "Why didn't the whelp turn human?"

            I laughed outright. _That_ was what they tried to do with that useless weapon? They had some weapon specifically intended for dealing with a _half-ghost_? Something like the cheesehead's stupid contraption? Ha! Clearly that weapon had been their last gamble, and it had failed.

            "Clearly your information is sorely lacking." I managed to declare in between peals of laughter. "You can't make me turn human when I discarded that weakness _years_ ago."

            "You did what?" Technus yelped as the battle armor took several steps back in fear, or perhaps simple shock.

            A red viewing device popped out of the armor and briefly obscured Skulker's face, the gadget beeping. I floated there with my arms crossed, figuring I would humor the idiots long enough for them to realize I was no longer the exact prey that they'd been after. I watched the metal giant frown in thought as the device told him what I already knew: There was no "half-human" in my equation, not anymore.

            "What happened to you, ghost-child?" Skulker murmured, more to himself than to me.

            "More than you can imagine." I snapped in response, charging a blast in one hand. I _do_ so enjoy answering rhetorical questions!

            "We should run away now." Technus observed, apparently shaking his partner from his thoughts. "Before he 'lays the smackdown' on both of us?"

            They dodged my shot and returned fire with a thick volley of missiles, all of which missed me by a considerable margin. I heard the roar of a jetpack, and for the second time that day I found myself blinded by a plume of smoke. I snarled a wordless curse and fired blindly, hearing an explosion. When the smoke cleared, I couldn't confirm if I had actually hit Skulker and Technus or if they'd escaped me a second time.

            "Very impressive."

            I spun to face the latest threat, only to find that Clockwork ghost, a green key in one hand. He also had a small sack hooked to his belt that he lacked before, his expression thoroughly unreadable.

            "You." I declared, charging energy into both hands.

            "This is your last warning, Danny." Clockwork stated, waving that key at me. "The other ghosts you've terrorized have made their opinions on the matter known, and I see no reason not to follow their recommendation."

            "Recommendation?" I hissed. "What recommendation?"

            "That you must be eliminated." Clockwork stated calmly, as if he were merely discussing the weather.

            "Oh, I already took care of their little recommendation." I chuckled, figuring that was what the organized army of ghosts had been about.

            Clockwork simply smiled slightly and turned, floating inside the castle, unhooking the bag from his belt as he went. I gave chase of course, how dare he just turn his back like I was of no consequence! The ghost was deceptively swift, by the time I cleared the wall, he was already in the throne room and approaching the ghost king's sarcophagus. My eyes widened as I realized what he was doing, a stray memory of Plasmius informing me just what that key was. The Skeleton Key, vital to locking Pariah Dark up... or releasing him like the idiot cheesehead had done before he stole the ecto-skeleton.

            "What are you _doing_?" I yelled as I closed the distance, my voice cracking unintentionally on the shout. "Don't you know what's _in_ that thing?"

            Powerful as I was, I didn't want to try my luck against Pariah a second time. I could swear that I fired at Clockwork, but I don't recall ever seeing my shots actually launched or hitting anything. To this day I'm not sure what exactly happened there. Clockwork smoothly slid the key into the lock of the sarcophagus, sighing as he turned it. "Of course I know. I helped put him there in the first place."

            "You wha-" I was interrupted by the thing bursting open, the giant figure of the ghost king stomping from it, a fierce scowl on his scarred face.

            "Who has woken me from the forever sleep?" Pariah's voice boomed as he swept the room with his one good eye.

            "I did." Clockwork stated plainly.

            " **You**?" Pariah apparently recognized the ghost, and apparently shared my distaste for him. "Why would _you_ release me, timemaster?"

            "The ghosts have agreed to serve you." Clockwork explained, utterly calm in the face of the ghost king's barely withheld wrath. "They believe you are the only one who can destroy-" Clockwork gestured at me with his staff. "-him."

            I confess I took a step back when the giant turned and looked at me, painted face turning to a displeased scowl. "The half-ghost child?"

            "Yes." Clockwork nodded, "The very same one that put you back into the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep."

            Pariah's generally immobile face managed to twist into an impressive snarl at that little reminder of our last encounter. For the first time since I came into my current existence, I felt fear. It was only on account of the ecto-skeleton that I had been barely able to beat the ghost king before. I was far more powerful now than I had been then, but I knew from memory that neither my weakness nor the cheesehead had fared well against the giant without augmentation.

            "And if I destroy this child?" Pariah turned to give Clockwork a dark look.

            "Then every ghost in the Ghost Zone will bow before you." He offered the ghost king that sack he had been carrying. "And I believe this is yours."

            Pariah grabbed the leather sack and dumped the contents into one armored hand, face cracking into a wide grin as he held up the glowing green crown. How had Clockwork gotten hold of the Crown of Fire, anyway? I knew from memory that the cheesehead last had the thing. I had no time to ponder that puzzle however, for Pariah chuckled and replaced his crown, shouting as its power took hold.

            "I accept your terms, timemaster." Pariah boomed, the giant ghost turning to face me, spiked mace materializing in one hand. "It is time that this world acknowledged its king!"

            Clockwork vanished, leaving me alone in the trashed room with the ghost king, who stepped forward menacingly, the entire castle quaking with his footfalls. I took several steps backward to maintain some distance, mind whirling. My survival was at stake, and I was not sure how my power would compare against this black-clad figure of nightmare.

            "None of your snappy banter, eh child?" Pariah sneered. "And no armor."

            I charged a blast, nearly slicing my lips on my fangs as I bit out a reply. "Maybe I don't _need_ either one, stoneface!"

            I fired a moderately-sized blast, merely testing the waters. Still sneering, Pariah batted the blast aside like it was nothing, the redirected beam tearing a new hole in the wall. That certainly did not bode well for my chances. Pariah fired a massive red energy beam at me in response, the shot hitting me square in the chest and punching me through several walls before I came to a stop.

            "Oh really?" The ground shook as Pariah landed in front of me. "What happened to all that power you were so proud of?"

            I staggered to my feet, clutching at my battered ribs. "You want power?" I hissed, charging a mammoth blast, akin to the giant explosions I had used on Walker and Aragon. I really shouldn't have put so much power into a single shot, my wounds from before had not yet entirely healed. But I was concerned and yes, even afraid and desperate. I still clearly recalled the terrible power Pariah possessed, and those memories made the foundation for my fear.

            With a wordless shout, I launched the giant green sphere at the ghost king. He merely smiled in the face of the destructive energy and clapped his hands together with a loud clang of his gauntlets. To my horror, he easily launched a red blast into the heart of mine, bringing the blast to a halt midair as forces collided. "Is this all you have to fight me with? This is nothing compared to your power before."

            Was he saying I was stronger in my weakness than I was now? No, he had to merely be making reference to the ecto-skeleton that had been boosting my powers a hundredfold the last time we fought. I growled and poured more power into my blast, the green orb tottering toward Pariah like a swimmer fighting a strong current. The ghost king's visible eye narrowed warily as he increased the power of his blast, green and red halted midway between the two of us for just a moment. Then, like a needle to a balloon, the red beam pierced my energy blast and surged forward. I had no time to dodge and was engulfed in the blast.

            I think I blacked out for a moment, for when I came to my senses I was sprawled on the floor, my jumpsuit badly shredded. Pariah stood towering above me, a smug smile on his painted face. I struggled to get upright, stunned at the full force of the ghost king's power. I knew there was no way I could beat him, not yet. So I turned my thoughts instead to escape. I hissed in pain when Pariah grabbed the front of my suit and hefted me to his eye level.

            "How weak _are_ the ghosts now, if _you_ terrorized them enough to release me?" The ghost king boomed.

            I ignored the belittling commentary and focused my efforts on prying the huge hand open that was holding me aloft. Despite my best efforts however, I couldn't make Pariah's hand budge in the slightest. The ghost king smiled in slight amusement at my efforts

            "Squirm all you like, child." Pariah sneered. "This world **and** the human world shall be mine!"

            "The only one destroying the human world-" I growled, swiping one hand and tearing my jumpsuit entirely, leaving Pariah holding only a scrap of the elastic material and leaving myself shirtless. "-is **me**!"

            Panting from the effort, I fired another energy blast, this one aimed right at the ground and angled slightly toward the ghost king. The explosion had the desired effect, throwing a shockwave and thick cloud of dust and smoke at the giant, momentarily blinding him. I didn't waste the moment on witty banter, I flew away as fast as my injuries would permit.

            "Run, child!" I heard the ghost king shouting angrily.  "You cannot run away forever!"

            I bit back the urge to shout back that I didn't plan to, and dashed into the first  door I came to, mulling over this new development. My recovery had been set back another several weeks, possibly several months. Valerie would have to wait, I clearly would have to find a way to destroy Pariah; otherwise he would deal with me, and then move on to the real world.

            The thought of the ghost king and his armies running loose in Amity Park rankled. That city was _my_ territory to do with as I wished, not his. Pariah had no means of getting out of the Ghost Zone however, with my parents' portal broken and the cheesehead's likely no more than scrap metal. I had to recover my strength and lay out a plan. Pariah was powerful even without his powerful little trinkets, it would be suicide to try and take him down when he had them.

            I borrowed another ghost's lair to hide in, forcibly removing the obnoxious pajama-clad Klemper and began to formulate my plan. My first priority was recovering my strength and evading the ghost king's forces. If all the other ghosts truly had agreed to serve him in exchange for taking me down, that meant I was all alone in incredibly hostile territory. If one ghost found me, then it wouldn't be long before Pariah arrived to finish what he attempted in the castle. My second priority would be to increase my own strength, which was only a matter of time. Another year, perhaps two, and my power would likely be leaps and bounds beyond what I was presently capable of. My third and final priority was to somehow weaken Pariah, to somehow remove the advantage of the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire.

            The next two years proved vastly educational. I learned stealth and perfected cunning. I practiced restraint and came to better pick my fights. Just because I could vaporize a large group of ghosts didn't mean it was a good idea, for it would attract Pariah's attention. My injuries took longer to heal than I would have liked, but I was almost constantly moving, always on the run. I used duplicates as decoys, and my plan finally came together. I figured out how I would destroy the ghost king.

            The plan was deceptively simple. I split myself three ways as I neared the keep. Two of me hid, lying in ambush, while I approached the guarded front gate. I was mildly surprised to find the Fright Knight standing sentry. Hadn't that fool worked out a deal with Plasmius before? Clearly the Halloween spook cared only to spare his own hide by working for the winning side. It took him a long moment to recognize me, and I can't particularly blame him. With my suit so badly trashed in my last encounter with Pariah, I had opted for a slight change in costume.

            I kept the black and white color scheme, after all, why mess with such a classic? For some inane reason I kept the nested DP emblem, but beyond that I had added some variety to my attire, a better balance between the classic black and sinister white. Oh, and let's not forget the cape, a jagged white affair with a black inner lining. I had found myself missing the familiar weight of a cloak the past few years, and finally rectified that lack. It certainly beat tying a bedsheet around my neck.

            "You-!" The Fright Knight leveled his weapon at me.

            "Yes, _me._ " I retorted dryly. "Get out of my way, I want to speak with _King_ Pariah."

            I didn't give the spook a chance to respond. I blasted him from the left, where I lay in ambush, and sent the black and purple spook flying into the distance. The me standing before the door kicked the portal open but did not enter. I figured the blasts outside would likely draw the ghost king's attention, and sure enough I heard his mammoth footsteps approaching.

            "Come to surrender, child?" Pariah sneered down at me, still several feet taller than I was despite a growth spurt I'd had in the past two years.

            "Why don't we take it outside?" I smirked, acting confident in my plan despite the fact I still had some concerns. It was a gamble, and if it failed, I was not likely going to survive. But then, it wouldn't be the first time I'd gone into a fight and taken such a gamble. "I'm ready to kick your butt this time."

            "Oh really?" The ghost king grabbed his mace from thin air.

            "Yeah, really." I floated back from the gate, judging the positioning from three different points of view. "And quit calling me a child."

            It was an afterthought really. I hadn't given the passage of time that much thought, but it did occur to me that I was just shy of twenty years old now, what I recalled from Plasmius notwithstanding. Had things gone differently, I would be out of high school at that moment, perhaps getting into college and pursuing that old dream of becoming an astronaut. But that had all turned to ash in one giant explosion.

            "Very well!" Pariah boomed as he stepped past the gates. "I accept your ch-"

            He was interrupted by a small green beam lancing out from the right, where one of me lay in ambush. The shot was utterly harmless, kinetic rather than explosive; and not aimed directly at the ghost king. His one good eye widened at the clang as the tiny beam narrowly missed his mismatched horns, instead firmly striking his crown and propelling it off to the left, where I leapt up and caught it, smirking wickedly.

            With a wordless shout of rage, Pariah lunged at me, but I let that duplicate disappear. The Crown of Fire was warm in my hands, I could veritably feel the power emanating from it. Small wonder the cheesehead had desired it for himself. The crown was the easy part, I had to get the ring away from the now-enraged ghost king. How would I get something like that off Pariah's massive hand, considering he was quite clearly ticked off now? I doubted I could just slip it off his finger, the ghost king would smash me to bits if I got that near.

            "Over here, old man!" I taunted from where I shot the crown from his head.

            Apparently forgetting the me that currently held the crown, Pariah threw his mace at me, the speed likely enough to smash my skull in. I raised a green barrier, the impact of the mace enough to shatter it and send me flying backwards, though I was spared the direct blow. I needed to stun him just long enough to get the ring!

            "Give it back!" Pariah howled, firing a beam from his good eye at me. That duplicate disappeared in a poof of green energy. I had the crown, but I can't particularly say that the ghost king seemed weakened from the loss. Angry, yes; but weakened?

            "Get it if you can!" I retorted from where I floated, holding it.

            In retrospect, that was _not_ one of my brightest moves, reminding Pariah where his crown was. Oddly enough though, like so many of my battles in the past simple luck prevailed. He turned to face me, launching a gargantuan red energy beam at me. It was easily leaps and bounds beyond my most destructive blasts, too massive to evade, and too powerful to block or deflect with a shield. So what did I do? I cringed, expecting the searing pain, the crown in one hand held out in front while I covered my face with my other arm.

            I was knocked backward by an explosion, a metallic shattering sound lost amid the detonation, my vision clouded by a thick glowing green haze. I distantly heard Pariah let out a gasp that I can only describe as stunned stupid. I was horribly disoriented in the haze, energy pricking at me in a manner that distantly reminded me of that terrible heat of my creation.

            "No-! My crown!" Pariah howled. I was confused, what had happened to the crown?

            My memory caught up to events then as my vision cleared. The blast had never hit me, I realized. The blast had barely begun to scorch my hand when it hit _the crown_. The explosion wasn't so much Pariah's blast as it was the Crown of Fire exploding from the impact, wrapping me in a haze of its power. The ghost king had destroyed his own crown, his own power source!

            That pricking sensation had to be some sort of radiation from the explosion, it felt incredible! The crown's power seeped into me, the ghost nearest to the explosion that had destroyed that power's original vessel. I threw my head back and laughed long and loud at the unplanned success, and it was Pariah's turn to step back in uncertainty.

            "Well, that likely makes things a bit more fair, doesn't it?" I smiled, showing my fangs. "What was it you'd said before? About all this power being a burden?"

            Pariah frowned, pale face twisting into an angry scowl. "Don't think you have the upper hand yet, child!"

            I sidestepped his lunge, now confident enough in my strength to fight in close quarters. I still needed to get that ring away from him, after all. Gone was Pariah's earlier confidence, his swings were more wild, a certain sign of panic, or something near to it. For his considerable size, the ghost king was extremely fast, I darted around a flurry of beam blasts and mace swings.

            "I don't _need_ the upper hand." I retorted, jumping the mace and briefly touching down on its surface, my feet narrowly avoiding the spikes. I sprang off of it and leapt over Pariah's head, one hand catching hold of the longer of his horns.

            He snarled and turned toward the walls of the castle, clearly hoping to dislodge me or impale me against the stone. Anticipating the ploy, I fired a small beam at the base of the horn, slicing through it and landing behind Pariah before he could try and smash me.

            "Why you-!"

            "Hey, isn't the saying that you should take the bull by the horns?" I chuckled at my banter, dodging more mace swings and parrying others with the broken horn. I had it in hand, so why not use it to add insult to injury?

            I had a flash of inspiration and blasted Pariah in the chest, throwing him back momentarily, long enough to again duplicate myself. In an instant where only I had stood, I was now split four ways. Clearly the infusion of power from the shattered crown had boosted my own strength considerably, as it was no longer any effort at all to split myself so many times.

            "This is _over_." I smiled. Three of me lunged at the ghost king, pinning him down with green bands of energy and basic brute strength. I strolled over, spying the Ring of Rage on Pariah's right hand, clenched tightly into a fist. Well, so much for that idea of just slipping it off while he was pinned down.

            "Never!" Pariah hissed, straining to break free. Even with my augmented strength, I would not be able to hold him for long. "This world is _mine_!"

            " _Was_ yours." I replied, firing a precision blast at the giant ghost's shoulder. It was most pleasing to hear his shriek of pain as the green beam sliced through his armor like a surgeon's scalpel, cleaving his right arm from his body. The three of me holding him down had a hard time dealing with his pained thrashing as I grabbed the dismembered arm and forced the hand open. Smiling wickedly, I yanked the Ring of Rage off. "Without the crown or your ring, you are _nothing_."

            Pariah finally succeeded in breaking my hold, my three selves flying in all directions. But it was too late. He was injured, and I now held both the keys to his power. I watched his horrified expression as I held the ring in my hand, my closed fist glowing bright green as I tightened my grip, shattering the trinket. I'm not sure who shouted louder then- Pariah in despair, or myself from the sensation as the power lanced through me. It wasn't exactly painful, nor was it pleasant. It was power. Raw, absolute power, and it was mine. Surely this would be more than enough to accomplish my goals now. Valerie and her little goon squad wouldn't stand a chance against my new strength!

            I heard Pariah struggle to his feet a short distance away, and I let my duplicates vanish. I wouldn't need to duplicate myself to finish this.

            "Long live the king." I sneered, pointing a hand at the crippled giant and gathering my strength. I wanted to see just what I could do.

            Pariah had no more words, he simply stood there glaring at me in defiance. He was beaten, but clearly was not going to beg for mercy. He grabbed his mace with his remaining hand and charged forward, weapon held for a wide overhead swing.

            I let him close the distance before I fired,  the green blast putting all my previous efforts to utter shame. The shockwave rolled likely for miles throughout the Ghost Zone, the thundercrack rumble heralding the fall of the ghost king. When the blast faded and I could see and hear again, there was nothing left of Pariah's Keep, the massive island was blown entirely to pieces, leaving nothing recognizable behind.

            I floated there, surveying my handiwork. Nothing could stop me now, with such power at my command! I knew precisely what I wanted to do with my newfound strength, too. I raised one hand, the swirling green vortex spinning into existence with hardly a thought. I could see Amity Park vaguely through the green portal, the sprawling metropolis ripe now for the taking.

            I chuckled, realizing the date. Valerie's birthday. And I had a very _special_ present to give her.


	9. Fortress

**Fortress**

            I prepared to fly through the portal, to wreck havoc on the sleeping city. I was almost through the portal too, when something small and green and fuzzy pounced me from behind, somehow knocking me over.

            "Arf!"

            Were it my style, I would have slapped my forehead. The furry thing hopped off my back and trotted around to my face, tongue hanging out, radiating glee. It was that stupid dog again. Hadn't he learned the _last_ time I kicked him? I got upright and pointed one palm at the obnoxious little dog ghost, green energy crackling into being, ready to waste him. It would be so easy to blast the mutt!

            "Get lost!" I growled, instead half-turning so as to kick Cujo. The mutt howled as he went sailing through the air from the impact of my foot. Why should I waste my power on such a pathetic little pest? I had bigger fish to fry, and said fish was wearing a red and black jumpsuit.

            The city was largely silent when I went through my portal, the city bathed in the orange glow of street lamps. It seemed as though they'd done an awful lot of rebuilding since I was last there. Wide swatches of the city were now unfamiliar, new construction having rebuilt what I had succeeded in destroying in the past. Of particular interest were the massive silver towers I saw encircling the city's center. The huge things resembled broadcast towers of some sort, but they were far larger than any such tower I could think of, nor could I understand the purpose of their vaguely circular arrangement; a distinct ring perhaps a few dozen miles wide.

            I pushed such thoughts aside, pondering where to begin cleansing this place from memory. I shut my eyes and spun midair, one arm extended, a blast held ready to launch in my open hand. I let my momentum spin down, and when I came to a stop, let the blast fly. With a slight smile I watched the deceptively small green beam lance toward the ground, striking partway up a skyscraper. The green explosion quickly engulfed several floors of the building, the first screams reaching my ears. I raised one eyebrow at another sound, piercingly high-pitched, clear even over the explosion. Sirens blaring throughout the city, the klaxons sounding from several different locations. Did they have some sort of citywide ghost alarm now?

            I laughed then. They thought they were prepared for my return, did they? They had no way to know about my triumph over Pariah, of the fluke accident that enabled me to beat that ghost and increase my own strength. They had no idea what they were facing. I started lobbing more blasts at the nearest buildings, laughing as they toppled, spraying glass, concrete, and bodies into the streets below. Soon I could hear the general panic rippling across the city as people poured out of the buildings and started running. _Where do you think you can run to?_ I thought as I continued blasting merrily away. If they had alarms, it wouldn't be long before _she_ appeared before me again.

            I was not proven wrong, as I soon heard the familiar whine of jet sled engines approaching. More than one sled, it sounded more like a squadron of fighter jets, and soon I saw them all. Matching orange and black jumpsuits, matching jet sleds except for one, red and black suit standing out against the rest, her sled out in front of the group. I fired a blast straight down, demolishing a large office tower. Immediately I fired a second blast in the direction of the airborne hunters and watched them scatter like insects.

            "Isn't this quaint? I remembered today was your 20th birthday, Valerie." I chuckled, addressing their leader, smirking at her hateful stare. "I thought you'd like a _surprise_ party."

            Valerie said nothing, but I could practically read her face like a book. That glare was so full of hate, an expression I'd seen so many times before I revealed my identity to her. There was a new intensity to it however, that had always been absent in the past. This had clearly stopped being a personal vendetta for a life ruined for her. I evaded her blasts as I contemplated her hate for me, almost curious about it. I suppose her learning the fate of my weakness had sharpened her resolve.

            Something hit me in the back and I grunted as the force of it knocked me to the ground. I had just been shot by an ecto bazooka of some sort, I knew the sound of the weapon behind me. It was incredible, it didn't hurt a bit! I got back up and glanced in the direction of the blast, raising one eyebrow at the sight of Paulina in a skintight bodysuit standing atop a jet sled, much the same way Valerie used to.

            "You want to give Valerie your head? Maybe _I_ wanted that for a present!" The Latina girl snarled, aiming a large gun for a second blast. I jumped back into the air, avoiding more blows from both Paulina and Valerie.

            "You think you can stop me?" I chuckled as I fired a beam at Paulina, making the girl yelp in surprise and hurry to evade. I largely ignored most of Valerie's goon squad, even the blasts that hit me didn't do much beyond nudge me in one direction or another as I contemplated the scene. I had some trouble hitting them even with my large ecto-blasts, but I admit I wasn't terribly worried. They were only human, full of weaknesses and emotional handicaps. There was something though in Valerie's face, something in her expression that would almost have given me chills from the intensity of it.

            "That little trick with your sled won't work a second time, Valerie." I pointed out as I destroyed another building. I hadn't forgotten _that_ little trick of hers from our last encounter. "I've gotten a _lot_ stronger since our last battle. This time, there won't be _anything_ left of this stupid city. You _can't_ win. You never _could_."

            "I don't have to _win_ , ghost." Valerie hissed, pure venom in her voice as she threw some grenades at me to accompany her gunfire.

            "Mmm-hm, yes." I chuckled, turning intangible to avoid the weapons as I remembered a similar line I'd barked out years ago when I first fought Pariah in my weakness. "So long as _I_ lose, right?"

            I heard an angry shriek and the whine of engines, so I moved a few feet to one side. My hair was ruffled by the jet wake as I saw Paulina's sled blaze past, missing me by just inches. Several other hunters intercepted, and I was too busy evading their blows to retaliate, much to my annoyance. Admittedly, I wasn't paying them much attention. Why should I? I was so powerful that their equipment could barely hurt me!

            "Red _is_ your favorite color, isn't it?" I raised my voice to address Valerie. Startled, she followed my gaze, gasping when she saw the crowds below that had caught my momentary interest. Dodging more shots, I launched a paper-thin green wave of energy down at the ground.

            "You monster!" She exclaimed, her voice an interesting combination of horrified and enraged as the blast cut into an apartment building, raining tons of concrete debris on the fleeing crowd below it.

            I couldn't resist the terrible pun. It was simply too easy, and terrible puns have always been one of my vices. "Why don't I paint the town red for you, Valerie?"

            Valerie bristled, even above the noise from below I could hear the angry hiss as she pointed her gun at me. "You'll pay for this you-!"

            She interrupted herself and dove to one side. I wasn't expecting it, and was caught full in the face by a powerful green energy beam. I yelped, flung through the air easily a mile before I regained my balance. I frowned as I caught sight of what had blasted me. Ringing the battlefield floated dozens of armored vehicles, massive contraptions that reminded me of some hideous spawn of Valerie's jet sled and my parent's RV. It was one of those that had blasted me, its massive ecto-cannons powerful enough to hurt.

            "Well, I wasn't expecting that. So you and that cheesehead are _still_ buddy-buddy?" I growled, wiping the soot from my face. Always, _always_ the face. I launched a blast at the offending machine, smirking as it moved too slowly to evade. I heard more cries of pain from below as the tank exploded midair, sending a burning rain of debris plunging into the midst of the people on the ground. "There's no way this dumpy town could afford an army."

            "What's it to you, ghost?" She snapped in response, blasting forward holding what appeared to be a pair of glowing green daggers.

            "You want to dance?" I chuckled, stopping one of the blades with my hand. This was rich, she thought she could fight me in close quarters with a pair of _toothpicks_?

            "I suppose it's a good thing I can multitask then, isn't it?" I declared from behind her, my second self slamming one foot down on the back of her jet sled. She gasped for just a second in surprise before basic physics took effect and catapulted her through the air, jet sled tumbling out of control in a different direction.

            She angled herself so her fall drifted out of the path of a second energy blast, and within moments she was back aboard her sled. The look on her face when she saw all four of me was absolutely _priceless_ , sheer shock mingled with horror and doubt. I didn't let her gawk for long, I darted forward and launched a punch at her face, but her sled slid sideways and I missed. She spun on the ball of her foot, a parody of a ballet dancer, and slammed her other leg square into my face. I stumbled briefly and retaliated with a pair of beams fired from my eyes, another trick I had neglected for the past few years.

            While that me was busy playing with Valerie, two of my other selves were keeping the rest of the hunters occupied. Even though I was outnumbered several dozen to one, I had all the advantages. My fourth self, shielded by the three of me busy fighting continued to level the city, brilliant green explosions ripping buildings apart to their foundations, spraying the fleeing crowds below with hot debris. I was making much better progress than I had in my previous two attempts at destroying the city: Vast tracts of suburbia were already reduced to ruin. In mere _hours_ I had already accomplished more than I had been able to in three _days_ on my previous attempt.

            "Don't think we don't have a few more tricks left, Phantom!" Valerie hissed, leaping from above me and crashing bodily into me. I admit I was surprised by the maneuver, and together we plummeted toward the ground. Her expression was positively wild as I fell with her legs wrapped around me, the huntress throwing her entire weight into driving her knives into my chest again and again. The sensation reminded me vaguely of that day six years ago when I awoke to the claws of the Ghost Gauntlets lodged in my torso, but the pain was miniscule in comparison.

            "As do I." I smirked. I let that duplicate vanish out from under the red-clad woman. It was momentarily strange to think of Valerie as a grown woman, no more of a child than I was. Her years of training showed most flatteringly through her skintight body suit, but it wouldn't matter in the end. She would die despite her best efforts.

            Paulina had one of my other selves separated from the general melee, or rather, I had split her away from the crowd. "Do you honestly think you stand a chance against me, Paulina?" I sneered at the Latina. "When not even _Valerie_ can touch me?"

            "Get away-!" She shrieked, firing at me with her bazooka. The weapon seemed horribly mismatched, a giant gun that was sorely at odds with her slender frame.

            "What, I thought you used to _adore_ me-" I leered, a blast to the back of the head interrupting me and knocking me off balance for a moment. At least it was a change of pace and not a shot to my face.

            "Adore you?" Paulina spat. Literally, I saw the spittle flying. "Who told you that? My only love is the ghost-boy!"

            I snorted as I regained my balance. The airhead still hadn't figured out that I _was_ her beloved ghost-boy? "I should have known you were so shallow, just a pretty face. I suppose I ought to _fix_ that, shouldn't I?"

            It was almost amusing the way Paulina paused for a moment as my worded barb sank in. Then her face twisted into an angry snarl as she grabbed a second gun from the small arsenal slung across her back. "Are you calling me shallow?"

            "Mm. Yes. I think _Sam_ said it best, didn't she?" I snarled. Sam had always been a particularly sharp wit, and observant with it no less. I would need to track down those ghosts and destroy them. They couldn't be allowed to continue to desecrate the memory of my deceased friends. "That I could stand in a puddle of you and _not_ get my feet wet."

            I didn't think it was possible for Paulina to look any more enraged, but the Latina proved me wrong. "I don't care what you _heard_ some dead goth girl say about me!"

            I was about to snarl an angry reply. How dare she talk about Sam like that? Sam was a better person than the Latina could ever _hope_ to be! She had no right to talk down about my late friend like that, and I would make certain she paid for her arrogance! I didn't get a chance to vaporize her, unfortunately. I heard Valerie shout something, and a volley of blasts from Paulina's bazookas and a number of those flying tanks slammed into that duplicate. I let that copy vanish, focusing my efforts through my remaining two selves.

            "How amusing." I mused as I brought a building down, crushing the short form of one hunter beneath its bulk. I landed on top of the heap of debris and phased intangible through it until I found the bloody remains. I was pleased to see he wasn't dead _yet_ , and better yet his arm was enclosed in a gap in the debris, pinned at a horribly nasty angle. I ripped his glove off and laid claim to his wristband, listening with a fanged smile to the communications chatter.

            While I was doing that, my other self was busy fighting both Valerie and Paulina, the two women furious at the death of their comrade. Paulina slammed into me with her sled, while Valerie jumped off hers entirely, a volley of gun blasts preceding her.

            "If you weren't already _dead_ , I'd kill you!" Valerie shrieked. Even I had to wince slightly as her voice hit a painfully high pitch in her anger.

            "I'll gouge his eyes out!" Paulina snarled, swiping at my face with her claws.

            The two hunters landed several punches, shots, and scratches before I launched a small energy blast that flung them both wildly through the air. Valerie called her stupid sled back to catch her as expected, but I heard Paulina shriek as she was thrown from her ride. Valerie shot underneath the Latina and caught her, and I spied the other sled flying back toward the pair.

            I snickered and fired a green blast at the thing, chuckling as the craft stupidly flew right into the green blast and was vaporized. I started firing at Valerie again, but she was a crafty aerialist and slipped out of harm's way despite the added burden of Paulina on her sled. Paulina opened fire, a few red beam blasts striking me. I let that duplicate vanish.

            "Dad, how much longer? Nothing we're doing is _hurting_ him! We're taking heavy losses out here!" I heard Valerie's voice through the tiny speaker on the communication wristband I'd taken. I ignored the chatter and dove into the midst of a group of those flying tanks. The things were utterly defenseless in close-quarters. I blasted one to pieces and grabbed another by the turret; spinning around and slamming it into at least three others before I released it and sent it slamming into the side of a building.

            "Just a little longer, Valerie!" I heard a male voice I distantly recognized over the tiny communicator.

            It was almost daybreak, the harsh blue light of the pre-dawn twilight revealing that the crowds below had thinned to nothing. There were still a few dozen more hunters alive than I would have liked, but I was making excellent progress on reducing _their_ numbers.

            "Dad. How much is a little longer? We're going to have to pull back the artillery first and cover the retreat with the infantry, or we're going to take serious losses while we retreat to the shield!" Valerie's desperate voice called over the airwaves. Retreat? To the shield? I didn't recall seeing the green dome of the ghost shield.

            "You certainly _are_ going to take losses." I sneered into my pilfered communications device, tone full of the loathing I felt for Valerie. "I like to think they'll be _total_ losses."

            "YOU?" I heard her shriek in response. I watched her sled wheel around and dodged a volley of red energy blasts from Valerie and Paulina. I returned fire of course, but they continued to elude me.

            "Everyone is under the shield that can get here! I'm ordering the artillery to fall back now!" The voice of Valerie's father issued from the communicator.

            Valerie dodged her sled around another one of my giant energy blasts and shot past me, her voice almost lost amid the howling of her sled's engines. "Think you're so hot, spook?"

            "Tag, you're it!" Paulina cried, throwing a grenade at me. Her throw was deliberately shallow, the weapon exploded before it ever reached me, the resultant shockwave knocking me backwards a few feet.

            The explosion didn't even char my cape, and I smirked as I floated from the cloud of smoke. "Isn't that cute?" I sneered as I gave chase. "You two want to play a _game_? Fine."

            Valerie spun her sled around to face me and dove beneath me as I shot overhead, Paulina firing at me the entire time. She wanted to dance, did she? I chased the pair through the ruins, a high speed game of tag in and among the crumbled buildings. I fired at the other hunters as I gave pursuit, I wasn't stupid enough to focus on Valerie to the complete exclusion of her merry band of soldiers. Tanks fell from the sky as I tagged them, green explosions setting off new fires in the ruins below.

            "You're terribly good at _running_ , Valerie." I sneered into the communicator as I chased the pair into the burned out hull of a building, firing a large blast into the haze where they had to be. I heard a series of explosions and the ever-present whine of jet engines, and knew that they'd avoided it. "But you know you can't run forever."

            "I may be good at running, ghost." Valerie retorted over the communication wristband, voice full of loathing. I emerged from the wreckage of the building and saw the pair, unscathed. "But you sure _suck_ at hitting anything!"

            "Yeah, all talk and no substance!" Paulina shouted to me directly. "It must be all that _hot air_ making your hair stick up like that!"

            I bristled at the comment and responded with more energy blasts. It reminded me entirely too much of how I was always blown off by the pretty Latina in my weakness. Mocked and ridiculed, when I had the power even _then_ to destroy them all. I could have done much worse to them all then with my powers than the occasional invisible prank or overshadowing of that idiot Dash. I could have, but in my weakness I was kind and merciful. Never again would I be such a fool and so nice to people who couldn't give a care in response. Never!

            "The Patrol is inside the shield! Get back here!"

            "We're _out_ of here!" Valerie sighed, turning her sled toward the center of the city. Her relief was short lived however, as I teleported in front of her.

            "You're not going anywhere." I growled, firing at her.

            "Wanna bet, ghost?" She snarled and swerved aside.

            "Out of the way!" Paulina snarled from behind Valerie, the muzzle of her ecto-bazooka leveled at me from over Valerie's shoulder. It spat a pink beam that caught me in the face, scorching my eyes and momentarily blinding me as I howled my rage. I was _really_ sick of the potshots at my _face_! I heard the jet sled tear past me, felt the wake of its passing whip my cape wildly.

            I snarled and gave chase as soon as my vision cleared, dodging Paulina's shots and returning fire with a volley of green blasts of my own. "When I catch you, you'll _wish_ I was only tearing you limb from limb! What I did to my weakness will _pale_ compared to what I'll do to the two of you!"

            The sun crested the horizon as I steadily gained on the two hunters, casting sharp shadows over the rubble-strewn streets and dead bodies below, and lighting up the plumes of smoke in sharp relief against the brightening sky. I really _had_ torn the city a new one during the night, the landscape was positively bleak as I chased them down. The two women started cheering for some reason, Valerie's jet sled sliding sideways to a halt.

            I was nearly on top of them, and didn't realize why they stopped until I was brought suddenly and uncomfortably to a halt as I slammed into what seemed to be a solid wall. I knew I had to look ridiculous, flattened against the smooth surface like an idiot. I never _could_ quite shed that particular observational quirk of finding shields by hitting them with my face. I shook my head and floated back a foot or two, only then realizing what had stopped me as Valerie and Paulina flew up alongside me.

            A giant blue dome of energy separated me from my intended victims, those "broadcast towers" buzzing as they generated the gigantic barrier. I growled as I realized the shield they had been talking about hadn't been the FentonWorks ghost shield. It was this behemoth barrier, sheltering a colossal portion of the city. A ghost shield bigger than I would have thought possible.

            "Sorry to disappoint, Phantom, but I think we went somewhere." Valerie waved to me, her voice dripping with sarcastic sweetness, taunting me with my most recent failure from within the perceived safety of that shield.

            "Looks like you lose, ghost!" Paulina winked and blew a kiss in my direction.

            I snarled, energy charging around my fists. They thought that stupid shield would protect them? With all the power I had gained in my fight with Pariah? I raised my hands above my head, charging the biggest blast I could manage. I was _furious_ , staring at those two mocking faces.

            "You think that silly shield will stop me?" I hissed. Paulina yelped and ducked when she saw the green sphere, likely spanning the better part of her vision. Valerie stared coldly at me, mocking my wrath, mocking what I was capable of with her utter lack of fear in the face of an explosion that would likely vaporize everything for several miles around. "DIE!"

            The explosion _was_ tremendous, a gigantic blast of green energy rocking the area. The shockwave alone tore buildings beyond the shield to shreds, snapping them back and forth like I recall seeing in old nuclear bomb test videos. The thundercrack of the initial impact gave way to a deafening roar as the ectoplasmic energy played havoc with the wreckage, twisting steel into nightmare sculptures, ripping asphalt from the streets and sending huge slabs flying hundreds of feet through the air.

            It took several minutes for the blast haze to clear, and I was stunned to find it hadn't so much as dented the giant blue shield. Valerie smirked up at me as she turned her sled away, taunting me with what would normally be an easy shot to the back.

            "Yes, I think that _silly_ shield _is_ going to stop you." She beamed, calling over her shoulder as she and Paulina flew away. "So long, spook!"

            "This ghost shield won't stop me forever, Valerie!" I hissed, firing a few more blasts at the shield, my rage growing as each one dissipated or was repelled outright by the cursed shield. They thought they could lock me out of my own home with technology clearly borrowed from my dead family? Did they think to hide underneath that blue dome, imprisoned in their perceived safety? Their prison couldn't stand forever. I _would_ find a way to tear it down, render that obstacle useless so that I could finish what I had started.

            I _would_ kill Valerie, and I would make absolutely _certain_ it was as messy and agonizing as possible.


	10. Power

**Power**

            Within days I had reduced everything beyond that blue shield to rubble, a grey wasteland of crumbling cement, warped steel, and shredded asphalt. People within the protection of the barrier had lost interest in staring in horror at what lay beyond the shield, and I could watch them through the dome, going about their daily routines, blissfully ignoring me. Every now and again I found survivors in the rubble, stragglers trying to reach the temporary safety of that shield. Needless to say, when I found them, it was assured that they _wouldn't_ make it to that sanctuary.

            I tried everything I could to break the shield. When my blasts failed, I tried breaking the towers, hefting huge blocks of debris and throwing them through the shield at the giant towers. The towers proved extremely durable however, and repair crews were too quick; I would take a single tower offline and move on to the next, only to find the first back online when I returned. Even with all my strength, I couldn't be in enough places at once to take down enough of the towers.

            I saw Valerie through the shield daily, the red-clad huntress flying to each tower in turn. Occasionally she would see me floating there glaring death, and match my glare with one of her own. But by and large she paid me no heed, secure within the confines of her technological fortress. From high above I watched her motions, hating the woman more and more. She was living at FentonWorks, I discovered. That simple fact set my teeth grinding in useless rage. That fool was living in what had been _my_ home?

            More fascinating however, was Paulina. Clearly our previous encounter had rattled the Latina, I often saw her flying near the shield perimeter and looking out into the wasteland. Unlike her commander, whenever she laid eyes on me, her expression was one of deep thought and confusion. I suspect the words exchanged during our last encounter had undermined the story Valerie had been feeding the cheerleader about me. One day, after being stared at for several months, I finally broke the silence.

            " _What_ are you staring at?" I growled at Paulina across the few hundred feet and the shield separating us.

            Paulina started at being addressed directly, and glanced around for a frantic moment before she realized that yes, I _was_ speaking to her. "Why are you always hanging around? You can't break the shield!" She responded to my question with one of her own.

            "Suffice to say I'm _haunting_ my home." I snapped out the pun, idly tossing a green blast at the shield and watching it ricochet off the dome and into the wastes. "After all, wouldn't you _hang around_ looking for a way in if you were locked out of your house?"

            Paulina cringed at the blast and shot me a dirty look. "Well yeah, but I wouldn't blow it to pieces, either!"

            "Maybe if you weren't such an airhead, you would put two and two together. I have a _reason_ for all of this." I snarled.

            Paulina raised an eyebrow and approached the shield until we were face to face, no more than three feet between us. What was she doing? Flaunting her safety in my face, daring death by close approach without crossing beyond the shield? She stared at me long and hard, and I found myself mildly disconcerted by the attention. She stared especially long at my chest, at the emblem I still wore.

            "Going to fangirl over me some more?" I sneered, breaking her from her reverie.

            "No." She snapped, turning her sled away. "You just... remind me of someone. And I don't care what your stupid reason is, I'll never forgive you."

            I bristled at her remarks, calling my revenge stupid. "Likewise."

            "Later, ghost." She carelessly waved one hand in my direction as she flew off, leaving me somewhat baffled. It was the closest thing to a civilized conversation I'd had in literally years. What else was there to do? I couldn't simply blast the twit through that irritating shield, and I had gotten sick of being stared at like I was some sort of freak.

            Since hanging around Amity Park was proving to be vastly useless, I considered my options. I knew as time progressed I would continue to grow ever more powerful, until I could eventually destroy that shield. What could I do to pass the time until that wonderful day came? I remembered something from the last battle. Those tanks, the jet sleds... all technology that the cheesehead had to have provided. I had been terribly remiss in my promise to finish what I had started years ago when I found out that my idiot cheesehead archenemy was still alive. Perhaps a trip to Wisconsin was in order, and barring that, Colorado.

            Since I could fly without rest, it took me only a matter of hours to cover a span that had previously taken me days. I was faster now; faster and stronger and without weaknesses. This time, I would make certain that cheesehead was deceased, rather than leave it to the random chance of explosions and falling debris. A series of giant craters marked my flight path, and before long I found the ruins of the old castle, largely reclaimed by wilderness. I frowned, surveying the area from above. Clearly the man wasn't there, I knew for a fact he had the wealth to rebuild the castle and that he would have.

            I landed in front of the ruin, listening to the wind howling angrily through the skeleton of the once-massive building. It looked deserted, blasted bits of Packers memorabilia littering the ground, more mud-brown and dirty yellow now than green and gold. The cheesehead would _never_ let such valuable personal treasures rot, it was clear the place hadn't been occupied for years. And yet I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, a paranoid sensation tingling up my spine and even in my nose. I checked, no red mist; it wasn't my ghost sense.

            I lifted into the air again to get a better look at the area and see if I _was_ being watched. I found my eye drawn to a clearing not far from the ruins. Digging through my memory from my weakness, I recognized it dimly as the place I had first come to that fateful decision over six years ago. From my vantage the daylight glinted off something, further drawing my attention. I flew down, one eyebrow raised as the details became apparent.

            It was a grave, I realized. A crude, simple grave; a pile of dirt and marked with stones. I touched down, frowning at the scene. Whoever had put the grave there jammed a wood cross into the heap of rocks, and it was there that I found what had first caught the sunlight and my attention. I frowned further at the picture, entirely too familiar of my family and friends and myself in my weakness, encased in clear plastic that shielded it from the elements. Clearly the cheesehead had survived and had sought to properly dispose of my weakness.

            That paranoid feeling was worse, I realized. The wind was howling through the trees now, carrying the promise of a wintery storm. A fitting mood, I suppose, as I stared at the grave. _My_ grave, or at least that of my weakness. In a sense I _was_ dead, was I not? No longer even half-human, with a lifetime behind me in ruin. I was a ghost through and through, powerful now beyond measure, and yet there was something in that clearing that I couldn't identify, a feeling I couldn't pin down.

            _You!_

            I spun, energy blast in hand to vaporize whoever had the gall to sneak up on me, only to find nothing there. I let the blast fizzle out, one eyebrow raised. Perhaps it was my paranoia about the place getting to me, a trick of the wind that was pulling at my cape and laying my hair nearly flat from its force. Eyes narrowing to wary slits, I surveyed the area, calling out. "Show yourself so I can waste you."

            _I'm right here._

            I spun again, still finding nothing but the trees, the rocks, and the grave. I peered behind the rock formation at the end of the clearing; I looked behind the largest trees ringing the clearing. No one was there. "Right _where_?" I snarled into the wind.

            _Right in front of you, you monster._

            I found my gaze drawn to the grave, but still saw nothing. It couldn't be, could it? My weakness was dead, I _was_ his ghost self. He couldn't be a ghost now, otherwise my ghost sense would have gone off. "Great, I'm hearing things."

            _No, you're not._

            "Right, if I'm not, who are you and where are you? I haven't blasted anyone today." I growled, ignoring my own confusion.

            _You know who I am, and you can't just blast me. Not yet._

            I found myself staring hard at that grave, a blast forming in one hand. Was I just hearing things, or was there something there? It couldn't be a ghost; my ghost sense still hadn't gone off. I tried to recall something from my memory about how ghosts form, but in my weakness I had by and large tuned out the particulars of most of my parents' blathering on the subject. And Plasmius had never done much research on the subject either. The best I could recall was being told that ghosts don't happen instantly, that it could take weeks, months, or even years for a ghost to manifest itself completely. Was that what I wasn't seeing? An incomplete ghost of my weakness?

            "Maybe I should just blast _this_ instead?" I growled, pointing my glowing hand at the grave.

            _It won't do you any good. I'll still be here. You can't get rid of me._

            I was so close to letting the blast fly. So close to simply incinerating the gravesite and being done with it. My gaze came to rest on that old photo again however, and I grudgingly let my arm drop to my side, blast fading. "What are _you_ still doing here?"

            _Waiting._

            "For what?" I growled.

            _For her to stop you._

            Her? Valerie? "Are you talking about that witch who betrayed us _both_? You're here cheering for _her_ , after she tried to kill you? After she tried to shoot you after we _trusted_ her?" I couldn't believe it.

            _She didn't betray me._

            I snorted, a dry chuckle lost in the wind. "You useless idiot. She did so, or have you forgotten about that entire-" I pitched my voice higher in mocking rendition of that day. "'You ruined my life, you lied to me, you USED me!' bit? She was shooting to kill, fool."

            _She didn't mean it. I know. She said so when she came here._

            It was stupid, standing there arguing with a pile of rocks, and I knew it. "Said what?" I shifted my voice into that mocking tone again. "'By the way, Danny, I didn't _mean_ it when I was trying to tear you apart, molecule by molecule, honest!' She's still gunning for me, you idiot."

            _For **you** , maybe. She said she was sorry._

            I thought I caught a moment of uncertainty in the non-voice. That witch had come here and apologized to a heap of rocks? Well, that might explain why she was able to fight me like a cornered rat.

            _She said... she loved me._

            She said _what_?! I admit my jaw dropped at that admission. Amity Park's self-described number-one ghost hunter confessed her love for a _ghost_? I refused to accept it, and turned my back on the silent grave. "Right. I don't have time for blathering at nothing. That cheesehead has got to be somewhere. I need to tear _him_ to pieces."

            _Go ahead, run away. Isn't that what you've been doing all these years since the explosion? Running away?_

            I fired a small blast in the general direction of the grave. I heard it as it deflected slightly off the top of the rock formation and hit a few large trees. It was without satisfaction that I heard the crash as each one fell over.

            I flung myself into the air with a muted growl. Assuming that _was_ my weakness, all I had to do was wait until he had manifested as a ghost I could vaporize, and that would be that. I shoved the thought from my mind, returning instead to my original mission of locating the cheesehead. If he wasn't living in his castle, there was his Colorado estate, which was only slightly less spacious than the old castle. I had to fight the wind until I got above the clouds and headed west. Thanks to Plasmius, I knew exactly where I was going.

            The mansion appeared mostly well kept from the air, a good sign to me that it was inhabited. Not for long, if I had anything to say about it. I raised one hand, blast forming; enough to blow the roof off the chateau, but not enough to simply leave a smoldering crater. I wanted to deal with my idiot cheesehead archenemy a bit more personally. I smirked, taking aim, before I sneezed. I really did prefer it when my ghost sense only made me gasp, but it was a minor annoyance.

            I heard something growl behind me, and floated to one side so the attack missed. I'm not precisely sure _what_ it was, some sort of vaguely humanoid ghost monster with blotchy skin, a square jaw, and huge feet. It soon was joined by a small green speck, and a large black legless skeleton. It took me a long moment to recognize them from a hazy memory from Plasmius. Attempts at human clones, the goal he had been working toward with his ghost animal experiments. All because I refused to join him, and he was lonely.

            "That's him!" A female voice declared from somewhere behind the other ghosts. Not feeling particularly threatened by the three misshapen ghosts, I turned my attention to the owner of the voice, one eyebrow shooting up in mild confusion.

            She was clearly a ghost, tall and slender with white hair tied in a high ponytail reaching halfway down her back and long bangs framing her glowing green eyes. She was clad in a short black shirt with white trim, and loose black pants with a white flame motif that nearly obscured her white boots. I suppose she was fairly pretty, but that wasn't what snared my attention. No, what got my attention was the entirely too familiar emblem she wore on her shirt.

            "And who are you?" I sneered.

            "You can call me Dani. Dani Phantom. With an I." She retorted, glaring warily at me. "And I know who you are. Dad told me all about _you._ "

            Great, another fan. "Dani Phantom? How... original." I rolled my eyes at what appeared now to be some sort of female clone of my old motif. "Assuming your dad is the guy I'm looking for, you'll tell me where to find him, right?"

            "He's not here, and I won't let you hurt him!" Dani declared. "I know what you did, Dad told me all about what happened."

            Well, she certainly had some spunk, and was clearly covering for the cheesehead. "You're lying."

            "No, I'm not." She growled.

            "Then tell me where he _is_ , and maybe I'll let you live." I hissed, forming a blast between my cupped palms.

            "No! I **won't**!" She pointed at me and glanced at her three associates. "Get him!"

            The three misshapen ghosts all growled and lunged at me, but honestly; I doubt I would have had much trouble with them in my _weakness_ , let alone now. The little green speck blazed toward my face, I merely caught it in one hand and crushed it like the bug it reminded me of. The skeleton and the big guy closed in on me from two different angles, intending to rip into me at once. I fired a blast that carved a large hole in the big ghost; it barely had time to register that most of its torso and one shoulder had been blown away before it collapsed in a shapeless mass of green goo that plummeted into the woodlands below. Ignoring that, I spun and kicked the skeleton, smirking when my foot shattered most of its empty ribcage and snapped its spine. It tried desperately to claw my leg, but a quick karate-chop with ectoplasmic energy and it too was reduced to lifeless goo.

            That left just the feminine lookalike and I floating in the air above the estate. Her expression registered shock at how easily I'd ripped her three goons apart. She slid into a fighting stance, and I realized she was drawing a compact ecto-gun from some hidden pocket. That struck me as strange: If she had ghost powers, what need did she have for a gun? She ought to have been able to fire ectoplasmic energy beams just like I could.

            "Last chance." I smirked. "Tell me where the cheesehead is, or join your buddies in oblivion."

            "I can do this..." I heard her mutter to herself in a nearly inaudible voice. "I already told you, I won't let you do anything to my Dad!"

            "Suit yourself." I shrugged, immediately firing a blast at the ghost. To my annoyance she turned intangible, the blast passing harmlessly through her and detonating nearly a mile below against a mountainside. In a moment she turned solid again and fired with unerring aim at me, each shot stinging only slightly.

            "It's your fault Dad can't-!" She growled, voice pitched slightly higher out of some vendetta I was unaware of. "Because of you, I'll never-!"

            "Never what? Survive this encounter?" I leered, zooming forward and punching her across the face.

            She sailed backward several hundred feet before she regained her balance. With surprising agility she darted around my next volley of blasts, returning fire with her gun. I admit I was still baffled as to her need for the weapon, but I didn't care enough to inquire about it.

            "Is that all you've got?" She taunted as she sidestepped a blast and shot at my face with her useless little gun. Need I make the obligatory face-shot remark at this point?

            "You do realize that your little toy ray gun isn't doing any damage?" I remarked dryly, batting a pink beam aside with one hand.

            Dani growled and lunged at me, fists glowing pink with energy. I recognized it for what it was; the same sort of device Valerie had in her suit that charged energy to her fists. Why wasn't this ghost girl using her own power? Why rely on artificial and entirely useless weapons? I decided to force the issue and let her get close before I responded, both hands shooting forward and grabbing her wrists.

            "Let go of me!" She shrieked, struggling to break my hold.

            "That would be a bit antagonistic to my killing you, don't you think?" I chuckled, tightening my grip until she cried out, dropping the gun.

            "I said-" She growled, green energy now swirling around her captive fists. She opened her palms, pointing two small green spheres of ectoplasmic energy at me and firing. "LET GO!"

            The blasts hit with surprising force, I felt myself go sailing backwards with a startled gasp and snapping of bone. That _hurt_... and my head was spun completely backwards on my shoulders from the force. I blinked in momentary confusion as I got my bearings.

            "I got him!" I heard Dani crow behind me... or would that be in front of me?

            "I think not." I growled, turning my back to her so I could see her surprised face. I admit her expression was priceless, a sort of horrified disgust as I untwisted my neck and spun my body back around to face her properly again. "Though I'll give you credit, that actually hurt just a little bit."

            "You just... you-" She stammered, floating backwards in fear.

            "I was wondering why you were using the toy weapons." I sneered, forming a blast in one hand, tossing it from one to the other idly. "But I can't say I really care. Either way, you'll be dead shortly."

            "Dad said you were a real jerk." She growled out, putting a bold face on her terror. "Come on then, gimme your best shot!"

            "Gladly." I chortled, throwing the blast at her. She didn't miss a beat, throwing a green energy shield up to deflect it and responding with a blast of her own. We might as well have been playing Pong, given I bounced her blast off a green shield of my own. "Really, is that all you've got? Even in my weakness I could do more than that."

            Even at a distance I could see her veritably grinding her teeth in frustration, wrestling with some unsavory decision. She narrowed her eyes and bit out. "Even if I ran, you'd follow, wouldn't you? You won't let me escape, even _if_ I told you where Dad is." A statement of fact, not a question.

            "I gave you a chance, and you squandered it trying to _protect_ that cheesehead." I smirked. "That's much more generous than I have been lately."

            She sighed; apparently my answer settled whatever internal debate she was waging. "Dad warned me it would probably come to this if _you_ showed up." She hissed, charging a blast between her palms. I quirked an eyebrow as I caught sight of something a bit odd. Was that a greenish glow near her feet as well that I caught a glimpse of?

            I suppose she was now as serious as she would get about the fight. I deflected the blast off my shield, resisting the urge to yawn. She growled a curse and fired several more beams, from different angles, I simply enlarged my shield and repositioned it appropriately, studying her movements. There _was_ a decided green tinge marring the white trim of her pants and beginning to cake her boots. Perhaps she was like those three ghosts she had been commanding that had merely turned into goo?

            She paused in her barrage, panting now from the exertion, white bangs plastered against the sides of her face from a nervous sweat. There was an air of desperation now, and I admit I found it quite pleasing. Valerie never yielded, never revealed any sort of desperation; she was all bravado no matter how dire the circumstances. This little slip of a ghost girl on the other hand was radiating desperation; clearly she was close to her breaking point and knew she was doomed.

            "I think it's my turn." I smirked, firing a large beam that collided with her and sent her tumbling out of control. Not enough to vaporize her mind you, but enough to smash her squarely into one of the mountain peaks not far below. I swear she made a squelching sound on impact, leaving a spatter of green goo from the collision.

            Clutching at her side, she wobbled back into the air, her attire torn and scorched in half a dozen places, green goo slowly dripping from her feet. She raised one arm and fired again at me, but my little shield trick again blocked it. "You can fire at me all day if you want, you can't get through this." I gestured at the barrier.

            "I guess there's no other choice." Dani shut her eyes briefly, and I saw tears running down her battered face. "Sorry Dad, but I'm toast either way, and this is my last, best shot at him."

            "What _are_ you talking about?" I raised one eyebrow as she lowered her arms to her sides, bent slightly at the elbows, her fists clenched tight. She turned to face me directly and took a deep breath, holding it for just a moment.

            When she shouted, it was like nothing I'd ever seen or heard before. A massive green shockwave shot toward me, accompanied by the most hideous tortured shrieking sound I had ever heard. I raised my shield against the blast, but it proved utterly useless, shattering before the sonic onslaught. I tried to cover my ears to block out that horrific noise, but it pounded in my skull despite the gesture, flattening my hair against my head and threatening to rip my cape right off. The sustained shockwave intensified, and I fought just to keep my aerial footing, to no avail. Like a leaf in a hurricane I was flung backwards, the pressure from the shockwave plowing me into the ground and through the better part of the mansion, the walls shattering from the impact.

            After what seemed nearly an eternity, the attack tapered off, and I heard a wet splatter outside the wreckage I was momentarily tangled up in. I couldn't hear anything as I intangibly extricated myself from the rubble; I suspect that shriek had temporarily deafened me. Mildly battered, I stalked over to where I could see Dani had fallen. I suppose in my weakness I would have been horrified at the sight, but after _that_ , I was pleased to see the girl lying in a steadily expanding puddle of ectoplasmic goo, a substantial portion of her torso and legs already melted away.

            "What was that!?" I demanded, though my own voice sounded distant and slightly garbled yet. I grabbed her by the ruined front of her shirt and hefted her to my level. "Tell me what that was!"

            She barely lifted her eyelids, glaring at me. That power, that was what I needed to break through that accursed shield protecting Amity Park. After what it had done to my little barrier, I had to know how she had done it. It had _hurt_ , and it had hurt a great deal. Such an amazing power, it would be the perfect tool to finish my appointed task of destroying that stupid city.

            "I'm not telling." She declared in a voice barely above a whisper, a far cry from the powerful shriek she had been using just moments prior.

            "You'd better, or I'll-" I snarled, shaking her.

            "Or you'll what?" She asked, glowing green eyes dimming. "I'll never tell you what-..."

            She never finished the statement as the remainder of her body melted into thin green goo in my hands. I made a disgusted face and flicked the stuff from my gloves. She had shown me the very thing I needed, and then took its secret with her into oblivion just to spite me. I stormed through the puddle that was her remains, splattering the goo in all directions as I stalked toward the mansion, blast in hand. In short order, the mansion was reduced to a deep crater. I would figure out how she had done that. I wanted that power for myself, that ghostly wailing was the very thing I _needed_ so badly.

            I didn’t care _how_ long it would take me. I’d spent months in my weakness trying to learn to duplicate myself; if it took me months, or even years, it would be more than worth the effort. I ripped a hole into the Ghost Zone and stepped through it. I would need to practice, and the ghosts would be _perfect_ to practice on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fondly recall getting very mixed results over this chapter and my inclusion of Dani, especially having her using the Ghostly Wail before Dan ever developed the technique himself. Her debut episode had only recently aired and the fandom was still quite torn about her as a character. Good times!


	11. Hate

#####  **Hate**

            No sooner was I through the portal and into the Ghost Zone than I heard a squeaky sound near my feet. My foot had collided with what appeared to be a garishly colored bear-shaped squeaky toy. I grabbed it, raising an eyebrow. What was something like that doing in the Ghost Zone?

            "Arf!"

            I slapped my forehead in exasperation. I'd entered the Ghost Zone at Cujo's lair? A quick survey of my surroundings proved it without a doubt: giant doggy treats floated in the background, the area littered with toys and other such canine accessories. "Of all the places I could have entered...." I grumbled to no one.

            "Arf! Arf!"

            I glared down at my feet, where Cujo sat reared up on his hind legs, tongue lolling out, begging for his stupid squeaky. My glare had little effect on the annoying beast, he merely barked and started running in circles at my feet, yapping merrily.

            "What do you want, you stupid mutt?" I growled.

            "Arf!"

            I followed the little monster's stare. It was firmly fixed on the squeaky toy I held in one hand. I moved the stupid thing back and forth across the dog's field of vision, his beady little eyes followed it like one of those weird cartoon cat wall clocks with the eyes.

            "You want your squeaky?"

            "Arf!"

            I held the toy out of reach as Cujo jumped up to try and snatch it back, a slow smile coming to my face. I hauled back and threw the squeaky toy with considerable force, and immediately Cujo took off running after it, yapping with glee. I smirked, pointing one finger and firing a thin beam over the dog's head. I admit I _am_ quite proud of my aim. Cujo grabbed the toy out of the air just as the beam hit it, vaporizing the plastic bear. I had to laugh outright as the little dog skidded to a halt, beady eyes wide and jaw hanging slightly open in shock. The little green beast had an absolutely hangdog look on his face, and yes, I know that's a terrible pun.

            "If you hadn't caused so much trouble-" I growled at the dog. "-none of this would have happened."

            Cujo's jaw clicked shut, and in an instant where the little pudgy mutt had been there was now a much larger, much fiercer green mutt growling angrily at me. It would seem that I'd really struck a nerve by fragging that stupid toy. With a monstrous bellow, the dog lunged at me, and I took up a stance ready to finish the job.

            Well, I would have, except a large furry black mass plowed into me and sent us both tumbling out of the path of Cujo's lunge. "Vi estas vundi?"

            It took me a long moment to compute what had just happened. Another ghost had knocked me out of the way before I could simply vaporize the stupid dog. My "rescuer" quickly got up, allowing me to also regain my footing and get a look at him. He was huge, standing taller than I did even with his back hunched over. After a moment, I recognized the ghost as he sniffed at me and broke into a wide, toothy grin. "Friend!"

            "Wulf?" I raised an eyebrow. He had _helped_ me? Hadn't the giant canine heard about my exploits in the Ghost Zone? Or was he as stupid as Cujo had been and thought I was still the same sentimental idiot I had been when we first met? Honestly, while the big ghost had saved my tail when Walker took over City Hall years ago, I would never have even been in such a bad spot were it not for that blathering hairball.

            "Kial estas li freneza?" Wulf asked of me, glancing at the still-angry Cujo.

            "Woof!" Cujo charged at me again, but Wulf intercepted, swatting the giant dog across the face with his green claws. Immediately the beast slunk back with a hurt whimper, still growling at me.

            I stood there watching the dogfight for a moment, taking stock of the situation. Wulf's attention was focused now entirely on Cujo, the giant ghost's back to me. The two canines tangled a few feet away, teeth and claws gnashing. I suppose I really did tick Cujo off by destroying his most beloved squeaky toy. Seriously, what kind of ghost can't pass on over a stupid _toy_?

            "Mi poto ne lasi vi vundi mia amiko!" Wulf bellowed, tackling Cujo and sending the both of them sprawling.

            "This is all _terribly_ amusing." I declared, catching Wulf through the back and chest with a pinpoint ecto-blast from behind. "But really, I never _was_ your friend, Wulf."

            "Kio fari vi signifi-?" Wulf gaped, falling to the ground with a loud thud, clutching at his chest where I had spiked him. "Vi estas...mia amiko... kial? Kial, _friend_?"

            "I hate you all." I hissed, preparing a blast to take both canines out in one blow.

            Cujo whimpered, and Wulf stared at me with wide, hurting green eyes as they stared their oblivion in the face. A blue energy beam came sailing out of nowhere, knocking me aside but otherwise doing no damage. I recognized the type of blast, that had to be from Skulker's weapons. As I got up, several small canisters clattered to the floor, spewing thick black smoke that quickly blanketed the area to the point I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face. Well, I could make out the green glow from the blast I was readying to take out whoever else thought to join the fight, but my point stands.

            "He's distracted!" I heard Skulker's voice, followed by a volley of missiles that slammed into the spherical shield I'd raised while I tried to fan away the murk. "Hurry and take them to safety!"

            "We're moving!" ... _Them_ again?

            Apparently Skulker had allied himself not only with Technus, but with those pale mockeries of Sam and Tucker as well. I growled as the big ghost continued his barrage, doing no damage but effectively keeping me blind within my shield.

            "You poor thing!" I heard Sam's voice in the haze, though I couldn't say which of the canines she was addressing.

            "C'mon, let's go big guy!"

            "Mia amiko... perfidi mi..." I heard Wulf gasp out, clearly in pain.

            "That's not him, Wulf." This time it was Tucker's voice. "It hasn't been him for a long time now."

            I heard the sound of a vehicle revving up and peeling out, shortly followed by the cessation of the barrage and then the roar of Skulker's jetpack activating. No sooner was the barrage finished than I dropped my shield and launched a huge blast in all directions, hoping to catch the retreating ghosts though I couldn't see their exact location. I can only assume that they got away, for I saw nothing when the smoke cleared to indicate that I had hit anything. Wonderful, twenty-four years old and my aim was already resembling my dad's.

            I briefly shook my head as I left the remains of Cujo's lair, dispelling _that_ thought and contemplating that hideously powerful wailing attack I had seen. How had that clone girl performed such a technique? How had she _acquired_ it in the first place, given that it was what did her in when I fought her? I tried to analyze what I saw. Clearly it was a sonic attack first and foremost, and an ectoplasmic energy blast second. Was it some sort of orally-launched blast? That could make sense, given ectoplasmic blasts can be fired from virtually any part of the body; fingertips, palms, fists, eyes, rear ends...

            I spied some sort of animal ghost floating by not far from where I was and tried shouting at it, trying to create that blast effect. I succeeded in scaring the stupid thing away, but no blast effect. I snarled a curse at the first failure of many as I continued trying to recreate that skill. Were I still a weak human, I'm certain I would have shouted myself hoarse.

            Several weeks later and still I had failed to figure out that wail. I floated through the Ghost Zone, brooding on my dilemma. I had succeeded in actually spitting a normal ecto blast and nearly scorched my throat in the process, but that wouldn't help me through that stupid shield dome. Not to mention it gave the phrase 'tastes like burning' an entirely _new_ meaning.

            "Daddy, who's that guy?" I heard a small girl asking someone else not far behind me. I heard a male voice gasp as I spun around to face my next practice dummies.

            "BEWARE! IF YOU GET HIS ATTENTION HE WILL-"

            I didn't let the Box Ghost finish, launching a tiny blast that smacked him square in the face and knocked him over, sending the little ghost in his arms flying with a loud cry. A second blast sheered one of the stocky ghost's hands clean off, and I loomed over the two ghosts, ready to try that shouting thing again. Inhale, deep breath, mouth open, insert chicken-

            Wait, chicken?

            A giant drumstick came flying from beyond my field of vision, catching me full in the face with a greasy splatter. I reeled, the hot grease having caught me full in the face, stinging my eyes. First they attack my face, now they smack me with _food items_... in the face? Annoyed, I finally wiped the goop off on my cape and glowered at the ghost that had the gall to attack me in such a fowl manner.

            "Are you alright, deary?" The Lunch Lady was floating next to the dazed Box Ghost and the little girl. There was something decidedly weird going on, but I wasn't certain what it was.

            "I AM THE BOX GHOST!" The Box Ghost recovered from my earlier attack. "AND WITH THE HELP OF MY WIFE YOU WILL FACE-"

            "Whoa, wait." I interrupted the ghost. "Your _wife_?"

            "Yes, deary." The Lunch Lady responded, giving the Box Ghost a quick kiss on the cheek and then patting the little girl on the head. "And this is Box Lunch, our daughter!"

            There was only one way to respond to such a hideous concept, such a disgusting scene. I cringed with a thoroughly grossed-out expression on my face. " ** _EW!_** "

            "AND NOW YOU WILL BE-"

            "Sweetie, what did we agree to?" Lunch Lady suddenly had one of her bipolar mood swings. " **YOU** will take Box Lunch and **HIDE** , while **I** serve him his _**DOOM**_!"

            "OH, RIGHT." Box Ghost scooped a stunned Box Lunch ( _ew!_ ) into his arms and ran. "BEWARE!"

            I raised one eyebrow at the undead cafeteria server. "You think that you can actually hurt _me_?"

            "Why yes, dearie. Maybe you'd like some pudding to go with that?" She smiled sweetly, holding out a plate with what appeared to be chocolate sludge.

            "How about a change of pace and _you_ get served some doom?" I blasted the plate out of her hands.

            " **YOU** aren't allowed to give out **_DOOM_**!" Lunch Lady shrieked, suddenly brandishing what appeared to be a bunch of sausage links.

            "Whatever." I turned to leave, lobbing a large blast over my shoulder at the crazy old lady. I heard her shriek in surprise and probably pain. I had better things to do with my time, namely try and obtain that wailing power. And honestly, the Lunch Lady was so far down on the ectoplasmic power scale as to hardly register.

            Several more months passed in failure. Amusingly enough, it was ten years to the day after my creation that it finally came to me. Apparently word had spread of my apparent vulnerability to sonics, because Skulker and Technus had teamed up with Ember in some sort of desperation ploy to take me down.

            "How 'bout I rock your world, dipstick?" Ember sneered, strumming her guitar and sending a wide sonic blast careening toward me.

            I darted around the attack, returning fire. "Still remixing the same old tunes, Ember?" I chuckled at my bad joke. To my annoyance, Skulker and Technus intercepted my blast, deflecting it off a shield generated by their power armor.

            "Remix this, ghost-child!" Skulker opened fire, but I merely smacked the missiles away.

            Ember fumbled with her guitar, apparently changing her tune since her previous attacks hadn't succeeded. I took the opportunity to launch several blasts of my own, but again they were intercepted by the black power armor. What an aggravating contraption, weak enough to be no real threat to me, but strong enough to keep me from striking my target. That shield was particularly sturdy, no less. I had been steadily increasing the strength of my blasts, but they had clearly anticipated my strength and prepared to defend against it.

            I took a deep breath, ready to shout some suitably frustrated curse or threat when it simply clicked. I can't describe how it came to me, it merely did. It was like the time I first fired an ecto-blast all those years ago against Desiree. I didn't know what happened, it simply happened. One minute I'm screaming curses at the three ghosts, the next minute I see that green shockwave slam into the ghosts and hurl them in all directions. I floated there for a long moment, shaking my head briefly to fend off a brief spate of dizziness, hardly daring to believe it.

            I was too dazed to pursue my previous threats and actually finish the three ghosts off, but they were drifting into the distance, apparently unconscious and in very poor condition. Such power! I would be able to shatter that ghost shield like a pane of glass with it! It was a terrible drain to my power though, I would have to be judicious in how I used it. A simple enough matter, I decided as I contemplated the now-imminent destruction of that city from memory. I only needed to use it once, perhaps twice to shatter the barrier, and perhaps start the buildings toppling. Yes, _she_ would finally be no more than another piece of unpleasant memory, ash on the wind.

            I snorted some red mist from my nose, and spun around to confront my latest victim. Imagine my surprise to find the Fright Knight standing there, the dark knight dropping hurriedly to one knee before me. Bemused, I held my fire for the time being. "What do you want?"

            "Well, you did dethrone Lord Pariah-" He began, holding his sword out to me.

            "So you want to serve me?" I interrupted, recalling events in the past. The Halloween spirit's loyalty was certainly not the stuff of legends, given he ditched the ghost king in favor of the cheesehead when it became clear that Pariah could be sealed back up. Since I was now the most powerful, he wanted to save his own hide by staying on the winning team. I snatched the offered sword, vaporizing it in a blast of green power. "Do what you want. I have a city to destroy."

            I left the Fright Knight sputtering in confusion, ripping a hole back to the human world. My strength had already recovered from that first wail. Ten years was more than enough time spent waiting, it was long past time for that tired blotch of history to burn. I darted through my portal, surveying the scene in the distance from atop a crushed skyscraper. The dome was still there, but clearly no one had yet become confident enough to rebuild anything beyond it. I noted with some amusement that there was still life in the wasteland, I watched a roach scrabble over the debris as I contemplated the city in the distance. From where I stood, it was nearly serene despite the clouds overhead suggesting a coming storm.

 _How appropriate._ I mused while I retrieved that old battered communicator I had taken from the hunters four years ago. I floated down into the shadows beneath a shattered building, surveying the unnatural cave. It was slightly conical, the open end facing the barrier. It would serve well as a giant amplifier. I wanted to take out as many of those stupid shield towers as possible, as fast as possible. _At last, I can end this. No more failure, no more weakness._

            I pushed a few buttons on the little device, finally getting it tuned to where I needed it. I must have interrupted a previous conversation, I heard Valerie demanding for her father in a worried tone.

            "Hello Valerie." I interrupted her, tone level. She had no idea what was about to happen. The shadows hid my face, I'm certain all that she could make out on her wristband were my glowing eyes, the rest of my expression effectively hidden. Perfect.

            "You _again_? I don't care _how_ powerful you are, ghost!" She snapped, her expression angry on the tiny communicator's screen. She had to be livid, after all, we hadn't seen each other for several years now, and I was _so_ rude, not bothering to call or write a letter. "You _can't_ break through the shield!"

            I resisted the urge to laugh outright at her bravado. She had so much faith in that shield, of _course_ a mere ghost would _never_ be able to breech it. Hah! She didn't see my grin, but I'm certain she could hear it in my tone. "Until _today_."

            She started to bite out a response, but I took a deep breath and bellowed, the shockwave blasting out of that cavern. The effect was tremendous, the wailing attack's power magnified by the walls of the cave, the sound nigh earth-shattering. I couldn't hear Valerie's reaction over the racket, but I could see the results in the distance and feel the ground trembling beneath my feet. It only took a matter of seconds, and I had to stop before I felt dizzy again. Ah, but what a sight! From my vantage I could hear the distant sounds of chaos, and saw the first explosions as the shield towers crumpled from the sonic onslaught. My grin widening at each explosion, I was positively beaming when I saw the shield recede and disappear completely.

            "Like the new power?" I inquired into the communicator, my tone conversational. "I call it my 'Ghostly Wail'."

            She glared at me through the screen, but was cut off from a retort by a blast of purple. I glared, realizing that my 'servant' was attacking her. How dare he?! Valerie would die by _my_ hands and my hands alone. The Fright Knight would suffer for this. Besides, I much prefer doing my own dirty work rather than delegate it to a minion. I took off from the now-collapsed remains of the cavern, making all speed for the city. As I closed the distance, I saw the unmistakable glint of a jet sled, flying at all speed for FentonWorks.

            I shot past the Fright Knight, dodging bullets from the hunters who had already mobilized. The black knight caught a lot of shots intended for me, and while I flew, I spun and blasted the ghost myself. Not expecting the massive energy beam from his so-called 'master', the Fright Knight yelped and was thrown backward, crashing into the side of a building. I launched several more blasts, both to ensure that the ghost was destroyed and to level the building.

            I largely ignored the rest of the hunters, heading for FentonWorks. The rest could wait, I wanted to be certain Valerie was done for. I passed intangible into the ground, positioning myself near where I knew the basement was. I could vaguely hear Valerie and her dad through the ground. Excellent, I could take care of them both in one fell swoop.

            I didn't spare much power for a second wail, it was certainly nothing compared to the massive sonic attack that I had felled the shield with, but it was sufficient for my needs. The ground heaved and cracked, giant fissures pulling open and permitting me to turn tangible again, springing upward. The lab was clearly plunged into darkness, only a few emergency lights running as I landed on the broken floor, listening to ceiling panels crash down around me.

            Just like that day ten years ago, when she blasted me through the portal. Valerie had a stunned, horrified expression on her face, staring at me. Her father looked similarly terrified, which suited me fine. I glowered at her, hating her for all the trouble she'd caused me in the past ten years.

            "Hello Valerie." I repeated my earlier greeting now that we were finally face to face. She stood rooted to the ground in shock as I raised my hand, ready to finish what she had started all those years ago. "And _goodbye_."

            I was mildly annoyed when the smoke cleared to find that the building was still standing. Clearly my parents had reinforced it considerably, since I no longer cared about the place and had _no_ reason to leave it standing. Several tons of rubble had fallen from the explosion however, and I was pleased to see a considerable amount of blood oozing from under the debris. Finally! I had done it, I had taken my revenge on that stupid ghost hunter!

            With their leader gone, it was almost pathetic how easily I took out the rest of the hunters. I flew around the city blasting cars, blasting buildings, firing at the hunters and civilians. Green flames consumed buildings and the people still in them, the panic was absolutely delightful! The hunters tried to surround me, clearly intending to use every last bit of their fighting strength to pound me, their only apparent tactic.

            I grinned, inhaling and letting loose another wail. Windshields shattered, smaller police cars tumbled about, crashing into the tanks and copters. The copters had about as much luck holding their ground against my wail as I'd had against the clone girl's much weaker one. If she wasn't dead, I might have actually thanked her for showing me the very thing I had been seeking.

            The wail left the hunter force absolutely decimated, and I continued to work my way through the city. What few tanks remained I was able to easily blow up, and more than a few were simply picked up and thrown forcibly into the sides of buildings or into crowds of people, crushing them beneath the armored hulks. Within days, the city I remembered from my weakness was gone, reduced to little more than grey rubble, twisted mockeries of civilization.

            Unfortunately I was not so lucky as to have actually killed Valerie. To this day I don't know _how_ she survived being blasted at point-blank range, but somehow she did, and for months pursued me like vengeful ghost. She wasn't the only one, but she was certainly the most persistent. I tried repeatedly to chase her down and finish the job, but she somehow learned to virtually melt into the shadows, hiding in places I would not have thought a ghost could hide in, much less a flesh-and-blood woman. It was infuriating, really. She was supposed to be _dead_ , yet she still defied me, still haunted me and tried whatever she could. I don't know how many times she managed to shoot me in the face or in the back of the head, the shots absolutely useless, but providing regular infuriating proof that she still drew breath.

            I was searching for her through the ruins the day it happened. My ghost sense went off, that simple fact strange in of itself. There was no portal, how could there be another ghost in the city? The red mist was almost immediately followed by gunfire and sounds of a fight several blocks away, and by now I knew it was Valerie's cannon just from the sound alone. If she wasn't shooting at _me_ , then just what _was_ she shooting at? What was going on? I followed the commotion to the remains of FentonWorks and touched down on a ruined skyscraper with a good view of the street below.

            "You can't fool me _this_ time, Phantom!" Valerie hissed.

            The sight stopped me dead in my tracks. I knew that figure, that scrawny little weak form, the black jumpsuit and careless mop of white hair. I _knew_ it, and the sight immediately dredged up memories I did not enjoy. My weakness, my uselessness ten years ago, somehow revived to taunt me. I bristled, considering what to do. Clearly that non-ghost I had encountered at the grave in Wisconsin must have finally manifested. That had to be it.

            "Valerie! **No**!"

            " _Don't shoot_!"

            .... But that didn't explain how _they_ were there and quite clearly **alive**.


	12. Nostalgia

**Nostalgia**

            I remained silent, watching events play out below, and frankly not understanding what I was seeing. _They_ were ten years dead due to my stupidity, my weakness. What were they doing here, looking like they could have just stepped out of my yearbook? Valerie mirrored my own confusion at the scene, the woman sputtering in shock.

            " **Sam** -? _Tucker_ -? I-i-it's not _possible_! This is a **trick**! You **_can't_** be alive!" She yelped, taking a step back from the teens.

            More words were exchanged below, though from my vantage I only heard bits and pieces. Tucker saying something about the C.A.T.... that happened ten years ago, he had _already_ taken it! I could see Valerie muttering to herself, lost in confusion before I caught the shift in her stance, a snap back to that ruthless red-clad shadow that had been after me the past several months.

            "And it was _all **YOUR** FAULT_!" The huntress screeched, her shout loud and clear above the whine of her cannon powering up.

            My weakness sat there in a pink net, clearly vulnerable. I figured I ought to intervene; if anyone was going to deal with that specter, it would be _me_. And in her state, I didn't doubt that she would  end up blasting Sam and Tucker as well. I wanted to decipher that particular mystery, and Valerie blasting them to pieces would have been just a tad counterproductive. I jumped down from my perch and launched a high-velocity green shockwave sending Valerie sailing several dozen feet and slamming into the shell of a building. Amusing, that was the first time I managed to actually hit her since we started our little game of tag months ago.

            "Actually, that was _me_. And **you-** " I floated down, smirking at the terrified expression on the face of my weakness. "- _eventually_."

            All three of them stared outright as I flew down. "Sam and Tucker!" I shot a weak green blast at them, binding the two teens and holding them immobile as I strode forward. It was nearly painful to look _down_ at them, oblivious to what had to have happened to them. "It's been a while. Ten years to be accurate. So, to what do I owe this little _blast_ from the past?"

            The two stood frozen as I surveyed them with a slight grin, my gaze coming to a rest on a gear-shaped medallion hanging around Sam's neck. It glinted in the weak light, and I noticed the initials CW neatly sculpted on it. Where had I seen those initials before-? I thought back, and a flash of memory came back to me. _"Unless you want to see everything and everyone you care about destroyed. And if you continue living your life this way, you will probably see it again."_

 _"_ Clockwork?" I growled as the pieces all slammed into place. Clockwork. Master of _Time_. Duh, time travel! That infuriating spook had brought these memories forward in time, including my weakness from ten years ago? Was this what he had meant when he said something about doing things 'the hard way'? Was he trying to change the past, thereby erasing my very existence and stopping me that way? "Meddling again-"

            I was knocked off my feet and into a nearby building, a pink blast having been launched at my unguarded flank. It didn't hurt, but the impact was a bit uncomfortable. I waved the dust cloud away, briefly wondering who shot me. Valerie stood opposite me across the street, arm-mounted gun still steaming. I growled, how could I have been stupid enough to let my guard down while I was confused about the teenagers? A sidelong glance told me those three wouldn't be going anywhere, and I had allowed Valerie to live for far longer than she deserved.

            I leapt at her, flying just inches off the ground. She tried some of her grenades, but I let the things pass right through, the explosions mere memory behind me. In the past several months, she would have used her gun to throw up a smokescreen to cover her retreat, and I half expected she would stick to that tried and true pattern. Instead, the woman stood her ground, a useless gesture as she took aim with that little arm-mounted gun and loosed a barrage of pink blasts.

            I glowered at her, dodging left and right around the stream of bullets as I zeroed in on my target, my two flight paths practically mirror images. She tried to jump back as I landed right in front of her, grabbing hold of her arm and nearly crushing the bone in my grip. This was the closest we'd been to one another in four years, her aqua eyes wide with... what was that? Fear? Honest to goodness terror? I relished her expression for a long moment, having become so accustomed to her relentless loathing and ornery persistence over the years. _Yes, fear. Terror at how weak and useless you are. Now you know how I felt ten years ago when I **trusted** you._

            I jumped into the air, dragging her by the one arm and letting go at the peak of our combined momentum. She offered no resistance as her trajectory lined her up and I swung, landing a vicious overhead punch to her face that would be sure to raise a nasty welt, assuming it didn't crack her jaw outright. She spun from the impact and plummeted to the ground, where I saw she hit hard enough to bounce once before skidding to a stop. I watched her struggle to get upright, smiling with delight as I landed a few feet behind her.

            Just like ten years ago, when I first confronted her in front of FentonWorks. Only now we were no longer children. I was powerful and independent, she was battered and broken. There would be no one to save her this time. Her father wouldn't come rushing to the rescue. Paulina wouldn't ambush me with that bazooka. She no longer had her goon squad to sic on me like a pack of useless attack dogs. No, this time things would go how _I_ wanted, and her memory could be consigned to sweet oblivion.

            "I suppose out of respect for our past I **should** let _you_ live." I stated as I strolled almost casually up behind her. She had managed to get herself almost to a sitting position by the time I reached down and roughly grabbed the front of her jumpsuit, hissing at her terrified face. "But that's _not_ how I **work**."

            I lifted her up, staring briefly. I wanted to vaporize her, right there. It would have been so simple, so straightforward, so _certain_ to finish her off and snuff out that life that existed for little reason other than to oppose me. Instead, I spun once and launched her into the air, knowing I had smashed her wristband. No jet sled rescues, she would be splattered across the side of a building, a suitably gory end to her pathetic life.

            " _Valerie!_ "

            I shot a glance at the noise, at my weakness trying to intercept the woman. Whatever, I could find her again and make sure she was done for. I strode to where my two captives still floated in a cloud of green energy, right where I left them. These were certainly no pale mockeries, no ghostly phonies. These were a pair of flesh and blood humans, teenagers barely in high school.

            "You know, if I had a _ounce_ of humanity left in me, this would be a very touching little reunion." I remarked, looking them over as I contemplated what to do with them. They were supposed to be dead, never meant to see me like this, so strong and capable and no longer requiring their help to fight my battles. They exchanged worried looks, glancing first at me, then each other. I frowned at them. Was that fear? They were afraid of something? Of _me_? "But of course, I surrendered my human half a _long_ time ago."

            My ghost sense went off, I figured it was my weakness come to rescue the two teens. "Oh _please_."

            I whirled, firing a green blast from one fist at him. He responded in kind, firing a blast from both hands. We knocked one another to the ground with nearly matching grunts, and I heard Sam and Tucker fall behind me as my little energy trap faded from existence. It shouldn't have, but that blast stung! How could my weakness, or me from ten years ago be able to inflict any damage on me? I was more powerful than he was, nigh-invincible compared to his _pathetic_ strength!

            "Tucker! Sam!" He shouted, a trace of panic in his voice as he sat back up. " _Run_!"

            I heard their footsteps as the pair took off running down the street. What good would that do? The city as they knew it was _gone_ , they were strangers in an alien landscape now. "Run?" I got back to my feet, smug with that knowledge. "Where are they going to _go_?"

            I heard my weakness gasp as I turned toward FentonWorks, Sam and Tucker running past the old shell of the building. With a sharp intake of breath, I unleashed my Ghostly Wail; not directed at them, but at the old building. The structure was so badly damaged from my attack six months ago when I broke through the shield that a strong gust of wind would likely have been enough. Brick and mortar cracked and started to fall loose, and as my attack tapered off, the twisted wreckage of the ops center tore loose with an ominous shriek of torn metal.

            I heard a horrified gasp behind me, and shot one hand out just in time to catch the black-clad blur by the leg as he tried to zip past. I tsk-tsked, both of us watching as the building crumpled over the screaming forms of Sam and Tucker. I frowned in thought while my weakness stared in abject horror. I knew that horror, I had experienced it first-hand at the Nasty Burger ten years ago. If this little slip of a ghost was in fact myself from the past, there was something still wrong with the situation. Why didn't _I_ recall any of this? I'm certain I would have remembered ever time traveling.

            I shot a weak charge of ectoplasm into the boy, watching him squirm and grunt through clenched teeth at the discomfort. After a long moment of the abuse, I saw the familiar white energy rings, replacing the ghostly child with the useless true form of my weakness. I could hardly stand it, I immediately flung him away, watching him cry out as he skidded to a halt amid the wreckage.

            Something caught his attention, his stance as he started to get back up radiated intense relief. "They took off their time medallions! That returned them to their time period, just like Box Lunch and Skulktech. Tucker and Sam made it out _alive_!" He grabbed what appeared to be one of those gear-shaped medallions I had seen them all wearing. He was blissfully ignorant of my approach, his other hand going toward the medallion hanging around his neck. "Which means I can-"

            "What?" I growled, grabbing his arm and hefting him with a startled yelp so we were face-to-face. "Go back with _them_? They're _doomed_ anyway."

            So that's what was going on. Clockwork sent my past self forward in time to shock the child, and hopefully prevent the chain of events that led to my existence. I'm sure that had I known the results of my actions on that stupid test, I would have been horrified by my future and forced to remain so weak. An idea was forming, I had to thwart Clockwork somehow; my very existence depended on it.

            "And you're not going anywhere if you can't remove your time medallion." I sneered, my free hand glowing as I ripped the medallion away from him. Turning just that arm intangible, I plunged my hand into his chest, the boy's startled gasp quickly turning to a cry of pain as I released the medallion and withdrew my hand. It had to have hurt, he was decidedly unconscious. "In fact, you're not going _anywhere_ at all."

            I contemplated the situation as I charged some old electrical cabling with ectoplasmic energy, binding the boy with what was now a sturdy ecto-rope. I had to somehow insure that he would survive long enough to realize he was so weak and alone. Much as I desperately wanted to re-enact the destruction of my weakness ten years ago, doing so would erase _my_ existence in the present, and I was by no means suicidal.

            It seemed deceptively simple. I simply had to ensure that I got caught cheating on that stupid exam ten years ago. I had to make certain that everyone who was supposed to die in that explosion was there with no chance of avoiding it. But how? That was _ten years_ ago, how was I to make certain things remained unaltered by this little time traveling jaunt Clockwork had arranged? My glance fell on the two discarded time medallions, one of which was sparking with some sort of energy. I grabbed it, beginning to piece together a plan. With these stupid trinkets, perhaps I could go back ten years _myself_ , masquerade as my weakness, cheat on the test, and arrange for everyone to be at the Nasty Burger. Then I could toss the medallion, return to the future, fetch my weakness and remove his medallion, and let him return to find everyone dead.

            Yes, that would work! Then events would play out as I remembered; revealing my secret to Valerie, running away to live with that idiot cheesehead in Wisconsin, the operation... it was perfect. And such a delightful irony that Clockwork's machinations would enable me to thwart his plan. With a dry chuckle, I grabbed my unconscious past self and tucked away the medallion, lifting into the air. I wanted him to see something before I left, to know how inevitable his future was. So long as _they_ lived, he would be weak and useless. Free of those obligations, he would gain strength and shed that paralyzing weakness that was his humanity. He would learn to hate Valerie just as I had, and understand why this city had to burn.

            While I was airborne, I looked to see where Valerie must have landed with the boy's help. To my annoyance, I found no trace of her. Perhaps she had managed to crawl into a hole and hide, though I couldn't envision her still having the strength to do so. I certainly hadn't held back when I hit her. Regardless, she was gone, and with my little unconscious bundle, I didn't particularly want to go and find her. My weakness might wake up, and I would rather he wake up already at the place I was taking him.

            A short time later I touched down, frowning at the graveyard. Most of the place was in little better condition than the rest of the city, one monument excluded. Even knocked slightly askew, the marble statue stood taller than I did, the only damage to the marble had come from the natural passage of time, the weathering of wind and rain. Five faces frozen smiling in stone, never again to see the light of day. With a growl, I tossed my unconscious past self to the ground before the statue and wandered off. I didn't much like hanging around that place, that statue. Besides, the ruins of the Nasty Burger nearby were far more interesting, the way the metal was twisted, the way the cracks had spread the through the walls. It was art, really. The demise of society, represented by a crummy fast-food place with combustible sauce.

            "Mom? Dad?" I heard him dazedly murmur, a trace of horror in his voice as he apparently come to his senses and laid eyes on the monument. "'Gone, but not forgotten?'"

            I listened to him scrabble awkwardly to his feet, the task difficult with his arms bound the way they were. He must have been so terribly confused, seeing the ruins and that grave marker. With one explosion, confusion was bound to give way to sorrow, and then hate and then... freedom.

            "And where's the Nasty Burger?" He murmured, voice trailing off when he laid eyes on the ruins.

            "Strange how one massive fireball of highly combustible condiments can..." I paused as I walked past the toppled signpost, amused by my own bad joke. "... ruin your whole future."

            He cringed at my approach, though I couldn't say whether from fear or perhaps disgust. "The time medallion-?" He squeaked out.

            "Fused inside you. Nice, huh?" I asked conversationally as I finished closing the remaining distance. He stared at me with wide blue eyes as the implications sank in. "Intangible and unreachable whether you're ghost or human, which means you can't go back in time."

            I turned to form a portal to the Ghost Zone. I figured that the dregs of my enemies there would be plenty to keep him too busy to find some way back. Tied up like he was, he would hardly be able to fight back. When I returned from the past, everything would be normal, and I could send him back in time to try and seek comfort from that witch. My past would remain the way it should be.

            "It doesn't matter if I go back in time or not! I'll _never_ turn into you!" He cried out, expression turning defiant. I knew that look all too well, that youthful defiance that had somehow carried me through countless battles in my weakness. Hah, mere defiance couldn't stave off fate! " **NEVER!** "

            "Of course you will." I sneered, feeling those long-disused energy rings pass over me as I altered my form to resemble that of my weakness. He gasped in shock, it had to have been like looking into a mirror as I grabbed his bindings. "It's only a matter of _time_."

            He yowled in panic as I threw him through the portal, the sound fading with distance. I glared at the swirling vortex, though I doubt he would hear me. "I need you out of my way and out of my hair while I make sure _nothing_ happens to change my past." I pulled the time medallion from a pocket in my jeans. Ugh, that form was terribly uncomfortable, moreso than the last time I had used it ten years ago when Valerie blasted me through the portal.

            "And luckily, _this_ is all I need to make sure of that." I mused aloud, the medallion triggering a brilliant blue warp. In a flash I found myself standing in an alleyway next to the Nasty Burger, the sunlight nearly blinding compared to the murky ruin I had just been standing in. "And to get where and _when_ I need to be."

            I surveyed my surroundings, taken quite literally from memory. So this was that time, ten years ago? So calm, so peaceful.... so _useless_. I had to bite back on the urge to simply vaporize it all. There was no one there who could stop me. Valerie and her old equipment? Hah! She didn't stand a chance with the best weapons ten years of development had to offer, there was nothing she could do with what paltry toys the cheesehead had given to her by this particular point in time. No organized ghost hunter force... the city could be vaporized long before any defense could be mustered.

            But no, I had to refrain from doing so. The destruction would come eventually, but for the time being I had to ensure things went as I remembered them. I glanced at the gaping hole blasted in the side of the Nasty Burger. "The Nasty Burger, still standing." I chuckled, glancing at the tanks full of those highly combustible condiments. "For _now_."

            " _Danny!_ "

            I whirled in surprise at the delighted chorus of voices, at that name I hadn't heard in years. Sam and Tucker had indeed 'made it out alive', they both looked thrilled to see me, clearly not knowing that the Danny they were thinking of was still stuck ten years in the future, helplessly stranded in the Ghost Zone.

            Sam was the first one to come running, I recoiled slightly when she threw her arms around me in a giant hug. It felt strange, seeing that joyous look on the face of a girl I knew was going to die within the next day and a half. So carefree, unknowing the miserable fate that awaited her. She released her hold on me and stepped back slightly, and I relented to hold her hands. I had to mind my strength, lest I accidentally crush fingers and blow my cover. "You made it back!"

            She jumped back slightly when Tucker came running and also gave me a friendly hug. He was similarly enthusiastic about the perceived return of my weakness. "Didja beat that evil, jerky push-packed alternative version of yourself?"

            Wait, _what_? Push-packed, I could see. I _had_ grown quite a bit since the accident, and I had certainly added some impressive muscle mass. Jerky... yes, I suppose some could construe my actions over the past ten years to be that of a jerk. But _evil_? No, the cheesehead was evil, always antagonizing me in the past, trying to guide and control my actions. Valerie was evil, standing against my goals, against my cause. I had my reasons. Payback and revenge, burning away those painful memories.

            I forced a laugh to cover my irritation before it could slip and reveal my identity. Funny, I hadn't had to worry about a secret identity in over a decade. "Always with the quips!" Ugh, that voice, so puny and shrill compared to my real tone. "In my weaker moments, I sometimes miss your droll sense of humor."

            "I'm sorry?" They both gave me odd looks as if perhaps I'd grown a second head. Come to think of it, something stranger than that, given the atrocious screw-ups I'd made in my earliest attempts at duplicating myself. I was on the brink of blowing my cover unless I did something, and fast.

            "I'm just kidding!  I beat my other self quite easily." I forced a big stupid grin onto my face. It wasn't a lie, either. I _had_ beaten my 'other self' quite easily. They simply were interpreting my statement in the wrong context. "Had you going there for a second, didn't I?"

            I nearly sighed with relief when they both relaxed, apparently buying it.

            "Well, we should probably do what we can to stop the Nasty Burger from blowing up, huh?" Tucker asked, pointing at the battered building we were standing next to. Shoot, they knew it was supposed to explode? Valerie must have mentioned it back in the present day. I made a mental note to break every bone in her body, one by one when I got back to my proper time period.

            "Already done!" I smoothly lied. Well, I _had_ glanced at the temperature gauge on the tank. It wouldn't be blowing up until shortly after five in the evening tomorrow. After the test, after Mr. Lancer arranged to meet my parents there. Then everything would happen the way it was supposed to. They would die in the explosion, and I would be able to go back to my present day and share the good news with my past self before throwing him back in time ten years to wallow in that useless misery.

            "Now, who's up for..." I frowned, wondering how I would pass the remaining several hours until the test. I would need to look over those test answers again. _What'd we used to do together...?_ "Playing some video games and raging against the machine?"

            They both apparently missed my moment of hesitation, or forgot about it in the wake of my forced cheerfulness. Wonderful, I would have to spend the better part of the day hanging around two dead people, resisting the urge to wipe this city of memory out of existence. Fine, I could handle that. After all, it was an act of self-preservation.

            "We're in!"

            I walked alongside them headed for the mall. It was very nearly surreal, seeing the streets of Amity Park as they were ten years ago, passing by people in the street and _not_ blasting them into a fine vapor. People smiling, people happy, people without fear or respect for the power I commanded. Feh, they would learn soon enough. In about two weeks from tomorrow, if my memory served me correctly, I would return from Wisconsin, free of that crippling weakness.

            I was sent sprawling face-first into the sidewalk by an unexpected blow from behind, skidding against the abrasive surface with a startled yelp. Again, my face! I growled, hearing my voice start to slip into my deeper natural tone as I heard that grating laughter behind me.

            "Hey, Fentoilet! Outta the way!" A voice I hadn't heard in ten years, not since I whispered my identity and blew him away. Dash Baxter, that _annoying_ moron.

            I started to get to my feet, eyes clamped shut in a parody of a grimace. In reality, I knew if I opened my eyes at that moment, they would be an unmistakably burning red. Words cannot describe how badly I wanted to blast that jock, to burn that mocking sneer off his blocky face.

            I was yanked off my feet before I got upright, an intense, crippling pain shooting through my lower torso as I was roughly lifted a foot off the ground by my boxers. I don't think I had to worry about my voice as I was tossed carelessly aside, tumbling once or twice on the concrete with a displeased yelp.

            "Too slow, loser." Dash chuckled as he and several of his dumb jock friends walked by. I growled, fighting desperately against the natural urge to just blast the lot of them. I could, and nothing could stop me, but Sam and Tucker were right there watching. To lash out now would ruin my cover and jeopardize my plan. Clockwork's scheme could _not_ be permitted to succeed.

            Sam gave me a hand getting back to my feet, a sympathetic look on her face. I refused to let that wedgie (which I dare say hurt more than most of the attacks I had been hit with in the past few years) go unpunished. I glanced up and saw a windowsill flower planter hanging from a second-story window above the jocks. Not lethal, but it would have to suffice for the time being. I pointed one finger, checking to make sure no one but Sam and Tucker saw it, and let a miniscule green beam fly.

            "Danny!" Sam admonished me when the planter broke loose and fell on top of Dash, likely giving the idiot a new concussion to add to his collection.

            "C'mon Sam, you know Dash was asking for it." Tucker chuckled as we resumed strolling toward the mall.

            "Relax, Sam!" I finally spoke, once I was certain my voice wasn't going to slip. "It's just a little harmless fun, right?"

            _For now._

            "Yeah, relax Sam. I heard that the arcade just got Alley Battler Omega: Third Fight in!" Tucker crowed. Ah, to be so careless and only concerned with such trivial things. At least he and Sam would die without being worried about their C.A.T. scores, given how both exuded a breezy confidence in their abilities, or a mild disdain for the impact of the test on their future.

            As we walked into the arcade, I surveyed the surroundings. Bright lights, lots of kids and teens, mindlessly attending their games. I overheard bits and pieces of conversations, gossip and pointless chatter. Some I recognized not for having been my classmates so many years ago, but for the fact they had joined Valerie's hunter outfit. From such humble roots would rise the force responsible for thwarting my revenge so often.

            "Danny? You alright?" Sam's voice cut through my thoughts, a mildly concerned look on her face. "You've been pretty quiet since you got back from the future."

            She was pretty sharp. I would have to remember to be extremely careful lest I make her suspicious. Not that she could have actually done anything about it, but I would rather she not know it was me. Let her go to her death thinking she spent her last hours with that weak child that was my past.

            "Me? I'm fine." I forced another smile. "Just... um... thinking. About the future. The test is tomorrow after all!"

            "You're still worrying about the C.A.T.?" Sam raised an eyebrow. "You haven't returned the test answers, have you?"

            Why was she so worried about those answers? Had she somehow connected the C.A.T. and my cheating to the destroyed city she'd seen ten years in the future? "Sam, don't worry. I'll take care of it."

            She frowned, but didn't continue to harp on me about it. I frowned as well. They _were_ my friends, fated to die or not. I couldn't save them ten years ago in my weakness, but _now_... I shook my head at the thought. No, changing the past would wipe out my existence, and replace the future with some new unknown course of history. True, I could save them all, but they would just continue to be a burden, preventing me from reaching my true potential. Best to let history run its proper course rather than take a massive gamble on alterations to the timeline. Clockwork had already made plenty of those.

            "Danny! C'mere, you gotta check this out!" Tucker ran over and grabbed my arm, dragging me to one of the arcade machines. "You and me, let's go!"

            It had been years since I last laid my hands on a joystick, the digital violence of the fighting game a nearly comedic parody of what I had seen, the carnage I had caused. Needless to say, while I had been quite good at video games years ago, my 'skillz' had deteriorated considerably. What can I say? I had far different priorities for the past decade than keeping my gaming skills up. Even Tucker was mildly surprised at how soundly he trounced me in the game.

            "Whoa, you feeling all right dude?" Tucker raised an eyebrow.

            "Guys, come on!" I responded, almost naturally. "We just went time traveling today! You saw that future, I think I'm allowed to be off my game!"

            Well, it was a suitable excuse for my apparent lack of gaming prowess. Sam and Tucker exchanged thoughtful glances for a moment. "Yeah, Danny's right. You hungry?"

            Thankful for the excuse to switch to a different diversion, I nodded agreement, while Tucker enthusiastically voiced his support. The three of us left the arcade, heading for the food court. It almost felt natural to be hanging with the two teens. Almost. It could never be truly right, they had to die because of my weakness.

            We stopped at a burger place in the food court before we laid claim to a table. Funny, I hadn't eaten in _years_ , it seemed oddly fitting that my first meal in ten years was with two people who would be dead by that time tomorrow.

            "So, you doing anything after the test?" Sam asked conversationally over a tofu-soy melt. Those things smell absolutely disgusting, for the record. I don't know how she could ever eat the things.

            "Oh, I dunno." I replied. "I thought maybe we could all hang out. Y'know, celebrate the future and all that."

            Sam frowned slightly in thought. She must have still been thinking about the stolen test answers. "As long as we aren't celebrating _that_ future, Danny."

            Tucker was oblivious to the irony. For all his technical knowledge, he could at times be a most astounding idiot. "Sounds good to me. You guys wanna catch a movie?"

            "Hey, Danny!" A familiar voice called out from a nearby table. "You ready for the C.A.T.?"

            I glanced in the direction of the voice, almost certain my eye color may have slipped ever so briefly. Sitting at that table was a very familiar form, though I hadn't seen her in the yellow and orange ensemble since... well, the day after the C.A.T.

            " _Valerie_." I growled in a voice so low and forcibly quiet that my friends didn't hear it. I raised my voice, working hard to maintain the higher pitched voice of my weakness. "Hey, Valerie. It's been awhile."


	13. Family

**Family**

            To Sam and Tucker's visible chagrin, Valerie picked up her tray and plunked down on the bench next to me. I noticed Sam was shooting the dark girl a look fit to burn _Ember_ to ashes. Funny, I never recalled that much blatant disapproval for the huntress from my friend. Of course, I was hyper-alert due to the extreme proximity of my most persistent enemy, as Valerie nibbled at her fries. Perhaps in my weakness I had merely been oblivious. Yet one more failing of my useless humanity.

            "I can't wait until the C.A.T. is over tomorrow." The huntress sighed, trying to diffuse the nearly tangible tension.

            "Why are you worried?" Sam snapped. "You _already_ work at Nasty Burger."

            The look on Valerie's face was positively priceless. "How you do know about-" She whirled and glared at me, the expression a ghost of the glare she would hone to a lethal intensity in ten years' time. "Did you tell them? I told you not to tell _anybody_!"

            I blinked, trying to recall the events in question. While it may have only been a matter of weeks for her, it had been ten years for me. "N-"

            Thankfully, Sam spared me from fumbling for an excuse.

            "Danny didn't tell us." She smirked. "It wasn't hard to figure out."

            Valerie paled beneath her complexion. I suppose she was envisioning some teenage nightmare scenario. Oh _no_ , how _would_ the in-crowd react? Horror of horrors, she would _never_ be able to weasel back into that obnoxious clique. Hah, not that it would matter in about two weeks. C.A.T. scores would be the least of her concerns when I returned from Wisconsin. She would have the entire city at her beck and call thanks to me. Paulina would be following _her_ orders instead of looking disdainfully down on her. And Valerie was absolutely bent on absolutely annihilating me. Hah, that's gratitude for you.

            "We haven't told anybody." Tucker broke the uneasy silence that followed.

            Valerie relaxed visibly. Now if I could relax, things would have been peachy. One of my greatest enemies of the past ten years was sitting _right there_ , right next to me and oblivious to the threat. The urge to simply blast her and be done with it was very nearly too much to resist. She was right there, and so vulnerable, so _weak_! ... And the way I kept seeing her looking at me, what _was_ that?

            _She said... she loved me._

            Was that not-a-ghost _right_? Had I been so stupid in my weakness to waste so much time mooning over Paulina that I didn't notice the two girls crushing on me the entire time? I narrowed my eyes warily as I considered the thought. Pheh, if Valerie _had_ cared in the least, I rather doubt her reaction when I trusted her with my secret would have been to point a gun at me.

            "Thanks." Valerie leaned back in her seat, returning her attention to her meal. "It's... well, I've gotta raise money for college somehow."

            Hearing her talk so blithely about plans for a future that would never happen nearly set my teeth grinding in agitation. She was talking to her worst nightmare and two dead people! How much of a future was there to talk about in such company?

            "Danny? You okay?" Valerie glanced at me.

            "I'm fine." I muttered.

            "... Danny, are you _sure_ you're all right? Why's your voice sound funny?" Sam quirked an eyebrow, studying me from across the table.

            I nearly froze up in a flash of panic. I'd let my voice slip, and far be it for Sam to miss such a detail! I coughed a few times as though clearing my throat, scrambling for a suitable answer.

            "I think I'm just... kinda tired." I fibbed, barely keeping my voice in the proper pitch. I shot Sam and Tucker a meaningful look. "It _has_ been an awfully long day, after all."

            They caught my meaning, given they exchanged looks and shrugged. I had to wonder if they were suspicious. We were all idiots at times when I was still weak, but had they figured me out? I had very nearly blown it too many times, I had to get away from these memories before I simply threw caution to the wind and vaporized Valerie. She would die eventually, I would make sure of that. But she had to survive until at least two days after the C.A.T., otherwise my very existence could be jeopardized. While I loathed her with every fiber of my being, she _did_ serve a vital role in making me shed my weakness.

            "Maybe you should get some rest?" Valerie frowned at me. "You do look a little pale."

            Aside from the fact I utterly despised her, I could very nearly have kissed her for providing me a plausible excuse for ditching the three of them. I forced an awkward smile. "Yeah, I probably should head home. I want to do some more studying before the big test."

            Sam shot me a wary look as I got to my feet. I suppose she was still fixated on those test answers that she knew were still in my possession. I grabbed my tray and jammed the garbage into the nearest trash can. I had to get away, the sooner the better.

            "See you tomorrow, Danny!" Valerie said cheerfully with a friendly wave. It's a good thing I wasn't facing her or the others, I know my eye color would have without a doubt revealed me.

            "Right. See you _tomorrow_." Without looking back, I managed an easy wave as I forced myself to walk away at a relaxed pace. I wanted desperately to simply take off, fly through the roof, and lay flaming waste to the entire mall. The entire afternoon was nearly suffocating, masquerading as that weak child, surrounded by the very memories I wished so dearly to vaporize. When I had set out on my scheme to ensure that everything went the way it was supposed to, I hadn't realized how hard it would actually be to experience events all over again. Those people, my friends were doomed to die for my weakness, and now that I was strong enough to save them, I couldn't lest I trigger some catastrophic paradox. How terribly infuriating.

            I fought down the destructive craving, opting to walk to FentonWorks though it would take considerably longer than flying. The last thing I needed was past-Valerie coming after me with her toys, even if she was laughably unable to so much as scratch my jumpsuit. I jammed my hands into the pockets of my jeans to hide clenched fists, stalking through the city streets. I'm sure I left Sam, Tucker, and Valerie in an awkward situation, given my two friends clearly didn't much care for her and her ghost hunting, a sentiment I agreed quite violently with. They could handle her for the time being; it isn't as though she had a reason to attack them. No, her beef was with the _ghost-kid_.

            I scowled at pedestrians as I passed by, passing the time by trying to place faces and recall where I may have killed them. When there was a lack of those, I turned my attention to the streets and buildings. It was so very surreal to see such quaint old architecture, old buildings that had quickly fallen out of fashion after I started blowing them up. With the exceptions of FentonWorks, Casper High, the Nasty Burger, and just a handful of other old buildings, the Amity Park I destroyed had been vastly in favor of the high-tech office and apartment towers. Not that it had mattered much in the end. Advanced steel and fiberglass fell to pieces as easily as old fashioned brick and mortar.

            I paused at the front stoop of FentonWorks, gazing up at the painfully familiar building. The last time I had been inside was ten years ago, when Valerie shot me through the ghost portal. The home that had been denied me for years, an empty shell of a life I no longer could live. Pheh, I didn't need it, a place to hide in weakness. Ten years from now, I had finally destroyed the place, I had no attachment left to this past.

            Not entirely sure what to expect, though I still remembered the night before the exam quite clearly, I shoved the door open and walked inside. I'm not sure why I remained so tense, half expecting to see my parents waiting in ambush with guns. They didn't know, and within the next twenty-four hours they would be dead anyway.

            Needless to say, I nearly blew my cover when my father lumbered over, pointing a very gun-like contraption at me. "Danny, check it out!"

            I hurriedly hid my decidedly glowing fist behind my back, taking several deep breaths to force myself to calm down. All these people from memory had my nerves on absolute edge. Not even being on the run from Pariah had left me feeling so high-strung. I took a step back from the large man, eyeing the weapon in his hands warily and squeaking out, "What.... is it?"

            Thankfully he hefted the weapon so it wasn't pointed right at me, beaming with pride and clearly quite content to blather at me about the contraption. "I call it the Ghost Crammer! When this baby is all done it should be able to shrink a ghost both in size _and_ power!"

            ".... You're building a shrink ray?" A weapon to shrink ghosts? How ludicrous an idea was _that_? But then again, this was a man who'd built a ghost-seeking _boo_ merang.

            "Just think!" Dad draped one massive arm across my shoulders, gesturing with the incomplete gun in his free hand. "We'll shrink those ghosts, and then your mother and I can tear them apart, molecule by molecule!"

            I slid away from the physical contact, trying not to cringe too much. Part of me was filled with merely an exasperated annoyance with the man, the other part bristled with absolute utter loathing for the idiot. I suppose it made sense, given the circumstances of my existence. In any case, he was an idiot who would be so much Nasty Sauce scented ash by this time tomorrow. I merely had to bide my time.

            "You do that." I muttered, heading for the kitchen. "I'll be in the kitchen."

            I thought I had been ready for anything after dealing with my friends and Valerie at the mall, but the sight of Maddie, of my mother standing at the sink cleaning up from preparing dinner froze me in my tracks. I felt myself very nearly blow my cover as I watched her attack the dishes with some sort of chrome and green scrubbing device.

            "Uh..." I caught sight of Jazz sitting at the table and finishing her dinner, giving me a stern frown. What was with _her_? "I'll just... eat upstairs."

            "Oh, Danny! When did you sneak in?" My mom realized I was home and dished up a plate full of what appeared to be some sort of meatloaf. "Still studying for the big test?"

            I accepted the plate, taking great interest in the contents and avoiding her gaze. She was just as doomed as the rest of them, there was no sense in getting wastefully sentimental about anyone in the house. The sooner I could get away from them and hide out in my old bedroom, the better. I felt nearly ready to explode from having to maintain my disguise all day.

            "Yeah. I'll be... studying."

            I ducked out of the room and stealthily dumped the food into the trash, scowling as I invisibly avoided having to hear more about that Ghost Crammer. You really would think that the world's so-called leading experts on the paranormal would have detection systems in the house. I suppose I was fortunate both now and in my weakness that their ghost-detecting technology wasn't entirely perfected.

            I didn't bother with the stairs, flying invisible and intangible right through the floor of my old bedroom, scowling at the childish decor. "My old room." I muttered, voice still pitched higher, just in case someone might overhear me. How many nights had I snuck out of those four walls during my weakness, looking for an outlet for the stress of fighting ghosts? I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror and walked over, one hand briefly running across my presently hairless chin. I had to resist smashing the mirror, I couldn't stand it, that weak _child_ reflected back at me. "And my old face."

            "Danny?" I was jostled from my musing by the sound of the bedroom door clicking open, Jazz standing in the doorway with a stern look on her face and my old backpack in hand. "We need to talk."

            _And my old sister, Jazz._ I mused, moderately annoyed. I was hoping to go the rest of the night without dealing with family members, but the girl seemed adamant about something. "What do you want, Jazz?" I barely kept my voice in line, but gladly pumped the words full of disdain and irritation, a poor outlet for my frustration. "I'm _busy_."

            "Yeah, busy _cheating_! Lancer was right, you _did_ steal the answers!" She walked into the room, pulling a familiar manilla envelope out of my old backpack. The test answers that I would need in the morning.  Apparently ignoring my glare, her expression softened along with her tone. "Don't you understand?"

            "That I'll be destroying my future?" I interrupted her, not particularly in the mood for being lectured by a dead teen about ethics and the future. I laughed once, the sound bitter even to me as I grabbed the backpack and answers from her. None of this had happened in my recollection of events. What else was changed just by my presence? "You don't know the _half_ of it."

            She glared at me for a moment, which I had expected. She probably wasn't used to being so bluntly disregarded. I had been so very meek in my weakness, yet another undesirable trait that was purged ten years ago. But abruptly, like a deflating balloon, she slumped, expression shifting to something I simply couldn't read. "Danny... I know _all_ of it. About _everything_."

            What was she talking about? I jammed the test answers back into my old backpack, glaring in confusion as she bent down and picked up that stupid boomerang, looking at the weapon with that same strange expression. What _was_ she blathering about? She couldn't possibly have meant-?

            "That you're part ghost, that you were always doing the right thing with your powers." Her expression turned slightly stern, hands again on her hips. "Until _now_."

            Even ten years free of those weak emotions couldn't have prepared me for that. She had _known_ all this time about that? How had she even found out about my secret, and why hadn't she mentioned it before now? My surprised expression and even gasp of shock were entirely genuine, I'm ashamed to admit.

            "You _knew_ -?"

            "I _know_." She reiterated the point, gesturing at me with the boomerang for emphasis. "And I've been covering for you with Mom and Dad because I'm _proud_ of you, and the good that you do."

            She had been proud of me? Well why hadn't she said something sooner? I considered my options. If she ratted me out, I might not even be able to take the exam, and no one would be meeting at the Nasty Burger at the time of the explosion. I considered my course of action. Acting hastily, though satisfying, would probably put my entire plan at risk.

            She leveled an impressively disappointed glare at me. It was almost painful to know that she was going to have to die knowing her brother was a failure. "But not _anymore_."

            Well, that clearly put me in a tight spot. I would have to do something about her so she wouldn't ruin my plans, _or_ my future. She thought she knew it all, did she? I couldn't resist, I simply _had_ to show her that she _didn't_ know **everything**.

            "You always _were_ smarter than I gave you credit for." I let my voice barely start to slip as I glared at her, wide white rings flashing into existence as I very nearly burst out of my disguise, smirking down at her as I resumed my real form. It felt so _good_ to be back in my real skin after trying to play the part of my weakness for the past several hours.

            Her expression was wonderfully stunned, aqua eyes nearly the size of dinner plates as she looked up at me. If she knew I had been half-ghost in my weakness, she clearly knew what "Danny Phantom" was supposed to look like. And ten years later, I bear only a passing semblance to that scrawny fool. Perhaps she had thought to exchange the safety of my secret for blackmail, hence her clearly implied threat to tell Mom and Dad about my powers. The nerve, I wouldn't have thought her capable of such treachery. Such tactics would have been far more becoming of the cheesehead than her.

            "You're... you're not Danny!  That's why the boomerang wasn't homing in on your ecto-signature." She gasped, backing away and dropping the weapon in shock. Revealing myself to her seemed to be having the desired effect; she was too stunned to raise the alarm. And shortly she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop my plan. Still, it almost hurt when she pointed accusingly at me, voice terrified as she squeaked out, "You're _not_ Danny!"

            "I _was_." I remarked dryly, forcing a twisted smirk. "But I grew out of it."

            Ah, witty banter, how I had missed it over the past few months of dealing with Valerie. Ever since the shield came down, she had lost all her flair for snappy banter. The huntress had become impressively ruthless, her hatred for me quite possibly an equal match for my own loathing of her. I would be able to return to the present day with some interesting new memories to blow to pieces. Perhaps taunting Valerie with that would pull her kicking and screaming from whatever holes she would be hiding in. Jazz continued to gape at me, still too shocked to think of raising the alarm or calling for help.

            "The Danny _you_ know is floating helplessly in the Ghost Zone _ten years_ in the future." I growled at her, rubbing some imagined dust from my glove before clenching a fist. I'm not sure why I revealed so much. After all, I wouldn't be able to babysit her the entire amount of time remaining until the test. If she knew I was from ten years in the future, she might still be able to do something.

            "He'll escape." Jazz declared, fists clenched. Clearly she had gotten over some of her shock, enough to stand defiant with such faith in my weakness. How could he escape? He was trussed up and trapped in the Ghost Zone with every ghost I had let get away. Really, vaporizing them had gotten quite dull in those last few years. "He'll _beat_ you!"

            I nearly laughed outright at that declaration. "How? Is the answer A- the Fenton Portal?" I grinned wickedly at that particular memory. "Destroyed it."

            Given the horrified and worried look starting to creep across my sister's face, the declaration clearly gave her some distasteful mental image. Well, she didn't know that she would be long dead by the time that happens.

            "B- The only _remaining_ portal, the one my idiot cheesehead archenemy has?" I sneered. With Amity Park out of the way, I would need to redouble my efforts to find and dismember that old fool. I stepped closer to Jazz, nearly within arms' reach of the frightened teen. How strange to be looking _down_ on my older sister. Payback for years of her nosiness and meddling. "Soon as I find it, that's going too."

            I suppose the day was just full of surprises for the girl, that last declaration shook her momentarily from her fear. "Cheesehead-? Vlad Masters? _He's_ your archenemy?"

            I raised an eyebrow and ignored the interruption. "Is it C- _You?_ No. You can't stop me from cheating on the C.A.T. and solidifying my future." I gestured, my hand surrounded by a green glow. Not enough to do any real damage. A loud explosion would have been sure to get unwanted attention. "So it must be _D!_ None of the above!"

            She didn't have a chance to cry out when I blasted her, the beam a fusion of the energy field I had used on Sam and Tucker and the charge I had zapped my past self with. She gaped briefly as I used the blast to lift her off the ground. In seconds she was unconscious, falling senseless to the floor. She would likely be dead to the world for the next several hours, and even if she tried to tell Mom and Dad, it was unlikely they would believe her story.

            Feeling vastly refreshed by the exercise, I grudgingly changed form again, fishing the test answers from the old backpack. I was fairly certain I still recalled some of the test answers correctly, I just had to check to see if I was right.

            "Well, what do you know?" I told my unconscious sister while I glanced over the answer sheet, laughing. I didn't even bother to mask my voice just yet. My parents were sure to be occupied downstairs. "The answer to the first question **_is_** D!"

            I put the pack down and grabbed Jazz, positioning her leaning against the headboard of my old bed, a study guide tucked neatly under her hand. It wouldn't do for my parents to start getting suspicious. Knocking Jazz out was one thing. _They_ had to remain oblivious until the critical moment.

            I went over the test answers for a few hours. It had been far too early in the evening for Jazz to doze off studying even the most boring of subjects. I found my gaze drawn to the sleeping form of my sister, mixed disgust and annoyance dominating my thoughts. How dare she try to manipulate me, holding my old secret hostage like that? What business was it of hers whether I cheated on a stupid test or not?

            Once I felt it was sufficiently late enough, I crept back downstairs, mentally braced for a second encounter with my mother. I had to be convincing, and in my weakness I would not have simply shoved her off my bed. I would have gone to my parents and gotten them to move the redhead.

            "Hey, Mad-... Mom?" I mentally smacked myself for the near slip.

            "Is something wrong, sweetie?" She looked over at me, shutting off the mini-welder she was holding. "Worried about the C.A.T.?"

            "Oh, heh, no." I chuckled nervously. "Y'see... Well, Jazz was... she was helping me study, but I guess she was pretty tired."

            "Did she doze off?" Maddie smiled slightly, clearly amused at the display of sibling devotion. Hah, if she only knew the truth of the matter!

            "Yeah, and I'm about ready to go to sleep, but she's kinda on my bed." I fibbed. I didn't need to sleep, but if they thought I was done for the night, I would be able to get out of the house without worrying too much about them barging into my old room.

            "Well you just go get ready for bed then, Danny." Maddie got up, Dad just a moment behind her as he finished the bit of needlepoint he was working on. "Your father and I will go make sure your sister is all tucked in, okay?"

            I grinned at the pair. "Right."

            I ducked into the bathroom upstairs to supposedly get ready for bed. Funny how years later I still knew exactly where the toothbrush and paste were kept. It nearly felt natural as I watched Dad walk out of my room, Jazz cradled in his arms and Maddie following close by. Finally, I would have some peace and quiet as I slipped into the room.

            "Goodnight Danny, see you in the morning!" Maddie smiled at me as I shut the door, muttering a semi-legible response to the sentiment.

            No sooner was the door closed and the light turned out than I was back to myself in that dark room, surveying the dimmed surroundings. In the dark I could still make out the features of the room easily with just the orange glow of streetlights outside. Trinkets and tidbits of a life I had long since outgrown. Funny how clearly I recalled each of those posters, that limited edition blueprint poster of the Explorer Hartman spacecraft, assorted space camp and rocket posters, telescope images of space. A shame I would never be able to actually make it into space, even ten years later I still occasionally wondered what that would be like. With the city destroyed, one could see countless stars in the night sky.

            I shook my head, there was no point to getting sentimental about things that could never be. Come tomorrow afternoon, it would all be gone for good, the memories could be buried and left to rot undisturbed. I kicked back on the bed, the mattress creaking ominously under my weight as I listened to the sounds downstairs of my parents closing down for the night. Soon all would be silent, a poor mockery of that first night. Tomorrow night, I would be ten years away, and my weakness would be going through that long night of loathing; the silence then absolute and final.

            I considered how I would pass the night. Like so many years ago, I could fly out the window and enjoy the night air a few hundred feet above the city. But I found myself unwilling to bother getting off the bed. I suppose I knew subconsciously that I wouldn't be able to restrain myself if I saw the city lights spread out so oblivious below me. So instead I leaned back on a bed too-small for my size and stared at the ceiling. Now that I was on the brink of witnessing that explosion, that old guilt I thought I had been free of was returning to plague me. Why was I so bothered? The past was dead, and I'd shed my weak human emotions years ago.

            I growled at nothing and flew through the ceiling to perch atop the ops center. The vantage was displeasing, though since I couldn't see too much of the city, the urge to merely start blasting away was lessened. Even with the city lights, I could see a few stars overhead, visible around the absurd protrusions and devices jutting from the roof at bizarre angles. Ten years from now, I had to keep reminding myself. Ten years, and it would be so much broken rubble dashed across the ground. I would be truly free of those displeasing memories attached to the building, to those faces.

            It was strange, I realized as the sky eventually began to lighten with the promise of dawn. This little time traveling jaunt was the longest I had gone in some time without actively destroying everything in sight. A temporary hiatus, borne only out of desperation to ensure my future. Everything would be back to normal, the way it should be when I discarded the time medallion stuffed under my jumpsuit and returned to the shattered present day.

            I hopped from the roof and hovered, peering in Jazz's bedroom. Sure enough, she was still unconscious. Perfect; she would likely wake up well after I'd left for school. Hah, ten years later, and what am I planning to do? Go back to school. The thought was amusing in a dark sort of way as I phased back into my old bedroom and changed form. With any luck, it was the last time I would ever need to wear that disguise. I crept downstairs, the first one in the house to be up and about.

            When my parents came downstairs, both bleary and in search of coffee, I was already supposedly done with breakfast, nose buried intently in a textbook so I wouldn't need to actually look at them. In less than ten hours, it would be all over and they would be in oblivion.

            "Morning Dad, Mom." I muttered, pleased that I hadn't stammered or nearly slipped up.

            "Danny?" My dad seemed surprised even through the morning brain-haze. "Why, you're up early."

            "I..." I paused, chuckling slightly. "Just want to make sure I'm ready for the test."

            "Well don't you sound confident?" Mom walked by, patting me affectionately on the head. "I'm sure you'll do fine sweetie."

            _Of course I will._ I thought, grinning with anticipation. _I'll just get caught cheating in the process._

            "By the way." I addressed the two adults as I grabbed the backpack. "Tell Jazz I said thanks for the help studying last night. It was very... _insightful_."

            "No problem, Danny!" My dad beamed at me over a cup of coffee. "You show those cats what for!"

            I quirked an eyebrow as I walked out the door. He really _was_ a most astounding idiot. I strolled at an easy pace through the streets, heading for my old alma mater. It was such a bright morning, with no hint of the dark clouds nor the disaster that awaited my family and friends at day's end.

            I passed several familiar faces as I entered the school grounds, smiling darkly. Soon it would all be over, my future secure.

_Soon..._


	14. Countdown

**Countdown**

            I wasn't the first student in the classroom, but I certainly was not the last. So many faces, so many whom I knew would die. Lancer strolled into the classroom, briefcase cuffed to his wrist as he took a seat at his desk. I couldn't help but smirk, I never cared for the man nor his literary oaths. He saw me and raised an eyebrow, frowning.

            "You're certainly early today, Mister Fenton." Oh, I could tell by his tone. He knew I had the answers, that I would be cheating on the exam. Hah, I bet he was so sure that he would be delivering an academic smackdown by day's end. If only he knew that by raising a fuss about my cheating, he was signing his own death warrant.

            "Wouldn't want to be late for the C.A.T." I barely kept enough sneer from my tone, lest I get in trouble for being disrespectful. "After all, my _future_ depends on it."

            The pudgy teacher frowned, not appreciating the actual meaning behind my statement. He remained silent though, as more students filtered into the room and took their seats.

            "Morning, Danny!" Tucker took his seat to my left and behind one. Sam entered a few minutes later, taking a seat next to me.

            "Morning, Sam, Tuck." I smirked. In just hours, everything would be assured.

            "Danny, did you ever-" Sam began to ask. She didn't need to finish, I already knew she was about to nag me further about the exam answers.

            "Alright, everyone, take your seats, we'll begin the C.A.T. shortly." Lancer interrupted, effectively halting all conversation.

            I tipped my head at the sound of hurried footsteps in the hallway outside, and a moment later Valerie came tearing into the room, clearly short on breath from running. She paused briefly in the doorway, quickly earning Lancer's ire.

            "So nice of you to join us today, Miss Grey." The teacher noted dryly as the dark girl moved to her seat. I watched him glance over the class briefly as he stood up and handed out the answer sheets and test booklets.

            I tuned his droning out, barely paying heed to the blather regarding test procedure and how long we had to take the test. Really, what sort of idiot doesn't know how to fill in a bubble with a number 2 pencil? A test for career aptitude, and they have to include such asinine instructions about coloring in _bubbles_?

            I scribbled away, filling in my name as per the stupid procedure while Lancer finished handing out the exam to the back of the class. With the test answers, I knew I would be done with the stupid exam in record time. What would I do all afternoon, anyway? Destruction was right out for the same reasons as before, but there had to be _something_ I could do to pass the time.

            "Now, good luck on your tests. Remember, you can't _cheat_ at life." Lancer declared with a pointed look in my direction before he started for the front of the room.

            I sat hunched over my desk, likely a holdover from how tall I am in my real form. Were I not wearing the guise of my weakness, I would have been terribly cramped at that tiny school desk. Instead, I had to settle for feeling terribly cramped, period, since I rather doubt Lancer would have let me in the classroom in my real form. Not that he could do terribly much if I had, that out-of-shape teacher probably could be beaten by the _Box Ghost_ without putting up much of a struggle.

            I peered at the answer sheet under the desk once the man had passed by. Really, with the answers right there, it was a snap quickly filling in the correct bubble and then moving to the next. It felt a touch awkward at first, to be sure; but I hadn't held a pencil in a decade, I think I can be forgiven being slightly rusty in my mindless academic skills.

            "Danny, don't!" I heard Tucker whisper, his voice while low was clearly worried. "If you cheat on the test, we-"

            Sam shushed him just as the noise caught Lancer's attention.

            "Mister Foley, Mister Fenton, is there a _problem_?" The bald teacher glowered at the two of us. Even I had to be impressed at the sheer amount of displeasure he was able to cram into so few words. The fact he knew I was cheating on the test must have rankled terribly.

            "Uh..." I floundered only briefly for a response, grinning at the annoyed man. "No problem at all."

            I heard Sam slap her forehead, and I caught sight of Tucker giving me a distraught look. Did they know? How could they have found out that the stupid test had a direct impact on their fates? Feh, so long as they were at the Nasty Burger shortly after five o'clock in the evening, it didn't really matter if they knew or not.

            I caught a glimpse of movement outside the door. A quick glance, and I was able to verify it, Jazz's blue eyes narrowed in an angry glare. So she was finally awake after I made her take an involuntary nap? What did she think she could do, barge into the classroom and disrupt the test?  I returned the scowl, but she didn't so much as flinch. Well, I suppose she had managed to steel her nerves after our little chat the previous night. Fine, I'd dealt with her once, a second time would be no more difficult.

            With a cautious glance behind me, I invisibly duplicated myself. Ah, such a useful ability. Not even the cheesehead could duplicate himself without transforming first, let alone without giving any outward sign of the extra effort. While I continued to take the test, I flew through the floor of the classroom and came up invisible behind Jazz. What did she think she could _do_? I watched with a displeased scowl as she peered into the classroom at me, rummaging through her backpack. After a moment and utterly oblivious to my presence, she pulled the Fenton Peeler out, holding the device ready to use.

            _Sorry, Jazz, but I can't let you get in the way of my future_. I mused as I grabbed her by the shoulder. She didn't have a chance to yell, I zapped her as thoroughly as I has the night before. Her slight yelp went unheard, as the hallway was deserted, and she wasn't loud enough to be heard in the classroom.

            No sooner had she fallen senseless to the floor than I was dragging her off. I couldn't let someone stumble across the redhead clearly unconscious, after all. There would be awkward questions better left unasked. In moments I lugged her outside and deposited her in the parking lot, hidden behind her obnoxiously pink car. I frowned as I studied her sleeping face. She was clearly going to persist in trying to stop me. So long as she was dead along with the others when I sent my past self back, it really didn't matter if she died in the explosion or if I eliminated the potential threat now. Indeed, leaving her to the explosion was risky, her actions now a wildcard in my plan.

            I clenched a fist, green glow crackling into existence. I had no more connections to these people. After all, I had killed thousands of people just like them in the past ten years. I raised my hand, blast primed and pointed at the unconscious girl. Nothing extravagant, just enough to leave a dusting of ash and sooty smear on the asphalt.

            "Goodbye, Jazz." I declared to my sister.

            It took me a few minutes to realize I had yet to actually make good on the threat. I stared at Jazz, my glance drifting to the green blast that for some reason would not fire. I scowled, the scene reminded me too much of my multiple attempts at destroying that stupid dog. I didn't have years and years to get over that strange hesitation in this situation. She had to go away, the sooner the better. I just somehow had to force myself to actually fire the stupid blast. She was doomed to die anyway, and whether by ectoplasmic energy blast or deadly burger sauce detonation it would still be my fault. Why was it such a hassle to try and handle it directly rather than indirectly?

            "Enough of this. You might as well die now." I said aloud, more to convince myself, again taking aim and forcing myself to fire the blast.

            I stood there, hand still extended while I waited for the smoke to clear. I studied the black scorch mark on the asphalt, my frown deepening. It was a very black scorch mark, and I think I may have melted the asphalt a bit. It would certainly develop into a nasty little pothole given time. My gaze shifted from the scorch mark on the asphalt to the long red hair splayed out near it, strands tangled and disheveled from the blast.

            I _missed_.

            How could I _miss_? Jazz was lying no more than a foot away and unconscious! She had _no_ ability to dodge the attack, _no_ ability nor means to deflect it! She could not have avoided it, which meant one unsavory thing.

            I had missed deliberately. Somehow, I simply could not bring myself to actually finish her off. Fine. I'd _allow_ her to live out the rest of her natural lifespan, the few remaining hours until her grisly demise. What was the worst she could do? Tell Mom and Dad? She couldn't _fight_ me, the most she could achieve would be ratting me out. Hah, I would be perfectly willing to round everyone up and tie them down in the blast radius. There was no escaping their destiny, I would see to it personally.

            I left Jazz where she lay unconscious, and flew to the roof of the school. I was in two places at once already, I might as well enjoy the fresh air while I was stuck inside finishing the stupid exam. A quick glance at the clock in the classroom told me it was eleven in the morning. Six hours until it all went up in smoke. I crossed my arms, taking in the scenery from the rooftop. I would be done with the test soon, and I suspected Sam and Tucker would jump my case about cheating and the future if given the chance. I would simply have to be elusive for a few hours. A simple enough task with my powers.

            Filling in the final bubble on my answer sheet, I bundled it up in the little notebook to prevent other students from seeing my answers. Wouldn't want them to _cheat_ , after all. I felt Lancer's eyes on me as I stood up and walked to his desk, test in hand. I quickly crossed the remaining distance and slapped my completed test onto the desk, grinning wickedly, hands on my hips. I knew something he didn't, and couldn't resist letting that satisfaction show on my face.

            I was rewarded with a displeased scowl, though muted anger might be a more adequete description. "Finished so _soon_ , Mister Fenton?" Lancer inquired, tone droll.

            "Is that a problem?" I planted my hands on the desk, confident in the situation and the simple fact my future was as good as secure.

            "How should _I_ know? I don't have all the answers." The fat teacher retorted, full of sarcasm as he leaned forward. It was amusing. We both _knew_ what was going on. I knew that he was aware I cheated, but he didn't know that. "Do _you_?"

            In hindsight, I must admit that obnoxious man did have a considerably sharp wit. That wouldn't spare him though. I wouldn't have a good opportunity to test the theory, but I doubt I would have had any difficulty in vaporizing his bald head. I grinned wickedly at him, the closest approximation to my usual sneer that I could manage in that pathetic form, and walked out of the room, barely sparing the people inside a second glance. So many of them would be killed in the next two weeks, and more still in the years to come.

            I stepped behind a tree once outside and returned to normal. It felt so good to be back to my real form. I met up with myself on the roof of the building and contemplated what I would do to pass the time. I would need to be back at FentonWorks perhaps a half hour before five in the evening so that I would be accosted by my parents to go to that ill-fated meeting with Lancer. I had something like five hours to kill, and very little to kill them with. Blowing things to pieces wasn't a option, much to my displeasure; nor did I particularly care to hang around my old bedroom at the house. I could wander around the Ghost Zone perhaps, but that idea held little appeal. There was nothing there that could even begin to keep me occupied for more than a few minutes.

            For want of anything productive to do, I leaned against the flag pole up there and attempted to relax in the sunlight. Things did seem so much sunnier and brighter ten years ago than in my present day. I wonder if perhaps all the large explosions I can lay claim to had somehow altered the global climate? The thought was pleasing. Not only did I have the power to decide who lives and dies, but I could alter the entire planet's features as well? An amusing thought, really. Perhaps that would be something I could do once I got back to my proper time and finished Valerie and the cheesehead off.

            I chuckled as another thought hit me about the situation. The irony of it, really. The day of the C.A.T., and here I am contemplating _my_ future and my plans and goals for it. I must admit the idea of a world finally free of the nuisances that were my two greatest archrivals was nearly alien. The cheesehead had been working behind the scenes for so long, and I had very nearly become accustomed to Valerie's continued annoyance and constant attempts at killing me. The thought of what I would do _after_ those two were gone was simply something that I had yet to give any thought to. What _would_ I do after that wonderful occasion, anyway? There were no ghosts left who could come even close to being a match for me, and Valerie was the most capable human I'd faced.

            I frowned and decided I didn't care for the direction that train of thought seemed to be heading in. I briefly wondered how my weakness was faring in the Ghost Zone back in my present. He was all but utterly helpless with the way I'd tied him up, and I'm certain many of my enemies would gladly jump on the chance to use him as a punching bag. In hindsight, that may not have been my brightest move. What would happen if he got killed? What would become of _me_ in that scenario?

            I was interrupted in my musing by the whine of jet engines and the sound of an ecto-gun charging. I raised an eyebrow as I got to my feet, in part amusement and part barely restrained desire to simply lob a blast behind me and kill the girl where she stood. I should have known better than to hang around the school like that.

            "Valerie." I declared flatly at the red-clad girl. "You can shoot at me all day with that stupid toy gun, and just waste your time."

            "Why should I believe you, ghost? Your little friend Inviso-Bill out of town or something?" Valerie snapped, firing at me. I had to cringe at that awful old nickname. It would be so nice to be back in my present, where she at least had the decency to call me "Phantom" instead of that old moniker I had been given by the news media all those years ago.

            I slapped the pink beam aside, resisting the urge to blast her. She had to survive at least long enough to scare my weakness to Wisconsin. So she thought I was somehow related to her usual target, did she? Well, perhaps she could keep me amused for awhile.

            "Hm, I suppose that _is_ one way of putting it." I sneered at her. "But you can't do a thing to me. You never could, and you never _will_."

            I could almost see the surprised look on her face through her dark visor. "Enough talking!" She snarled, firing more blasts at me.

            I merely evaded that volley and took to the air, flying away from her at a leisurely pace. True to form, I heard the whine of her jet sled in pursuit. Compared to her abilities ten years down the line, her speed and abilities as a teenager were very nearly pedestrian. I flitted out of the way of several more blasts from behind, climbing higher into the air with the young huntress hot on my tail. Well, only because I let her. Had I been serious, I could easily have bested her top speed.

            "I think it's _your_ turn to dance, Valerie." I spun and launched a volley of tiny green beams. I had to remember to watch my strength, I didn't want to kill her here. Well, I _did_ , but doing so at that particular moment would have put my plan at risk.

            Even at fourteen, she did a surprisingly good job of dodging and weaving through the hailstorm of blasts. "You're a pretty lousy shot, ghost!" She crowed, firing at me again.

            "That's because I'm not _trying_ to hit you." I grumbled, carelessly batting the pink beam aside.

            A little _too_ careless, as the deflected beam knocked Valerie's gun from her hands and knocked her apparently precarious balance off. With a nearly comedic windmilling of her arms, she tried to maintain her sled's balance. Apparently all in vain as she slipped and the sled canted sharply to the side, dropping her.

            I chuckled as she plummeted, shrieking in panic. Ten years from now, a fall from a couple thousand feet in the air would hardly faze her. I saw her pressing in a frenzy at her wrist. Why hadn't her sled come wheeling back for her? I suppose it was pure bad luck, perhaps her little wristband wasn't responding? I facepalmed as I realized what that meant for me. The irony of it was nearly tangible.

            In order to ensure my past went properly, I had to save the life of the girl I'd spent the past decade trying to murder. I grumbled and dove after her, matching my speed to hers and grabbing her around the waist. She screamed obscenities at me, I was surprised she actually knew such coarse language at fourteen. I had thought that to be a later development. She put up an impressive struggle trying to break my hold, but I was more than a match for her feeble attempt at escape. It was sorely tempting to merely crush the girl in my arms, but I forced myself to maintain a hold strong enough only to thwart her squirming.

            "Let me _go_!" She shrieked, voice pitched high enough to actually hurt my ears as we floated safely to the ground.

            "Gee, you're welcome." I hissed, throwing her the remaining ten feet to a bruising landing in the park. "That's the _only_ time that will happen."

            She cringed and picked herself up off the ground slowly. I'm sure she was sufficiently bruised from the landing, and without her guns or sled she was clearly aware of being at a severe disadvantage. "Why'd you help me, ghost?" She growled.

            "For the future." I turned to leave. I feared if I stuck around I wouldn't be able to resist the siren call of her premature demise. I glanced over my shoulder at her, clearly gaping behind her visor. "The _next_ time we meet, I won't be holding _anything_ back."

            I launched into the air and decided to head for home. It was still a bit earlier than originally intended, but my little chase with Valerie had killed a couple of hours at least. I glanced at a bank clock to verify the time. Nearly three o'clock in the afternoon. Just two more hours and it would be over. Funny, I hadn't given time nor its passing this much thought in years. Really, the last time I'd had and kept an appointment of any sort was, amusingly enough, when I told Valerie to meet me in the park ten years ago.

            I cautiously stepped through the front door, once again wearing the guise of my weakness. I almost blew my cover when Maddie was waiting, one hand on her hip. At least it wasn't Dad with any gunlike contraptions this time.

            "Danny, where have you been?" She scolded. "I've been trying to call you for hours!"

            My eyes widened at that. Wait, call? Oh my cell phone? The cell phone presumably ten years in the future with my weak past self? Crud, what if other people had been trying to call 'me'? Would the lack of an answer make people more suspicious?

            "Uh... er..." I fumbled for an answer, partly from confusion and partly from the proximity of my mother. I mentally slapped myself. She would be dead in two hours, there was no point in thinking about what might have been. They _all_ had to die for my future to be secured. I could no more spare Maddie than I could Sam.

            "Well, at least you came home in time." She relaxed slightly. "Mr. Lancer called. He wants to meet with us tonight, and I was trying to call you to let you know."

            "Oh." I sighed with relief. "Look, I'm gonna... take a nap! Yeah, because the test was _so_ exhausting... later!"

            I pelted up the stairs, skidded around the corner and practically dove into my old bedroom, clicking the door shut behind me. With the way my luck was running, perhaps just idling in the bedroom _was_ the wisest course of action. Being bored to death was certainly better than having to rescue Valerie from her own inadequacy or try and carry on a conversation around Maddie, when her mere presence seemed enough to disrupt my thoughts. I kicked back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I had made it this far, I just had to wait a little longer, and then I would never need to wear that horribly uncomfortable guise ever again. Everything would be dead and buried in the past where it belonged. I didn't fall asleep, but I must have spaced out, for a loud knocking at the door snapped me to full awareness some time later.

            "Danny, wake up! We've got that meeting soon, son!" I heard Dad's voice through the door. Son, huh? I stretched and climbed to my feet. Hadn't heard that term of endearment in ages.

            "Right." I tried to sound slightly groggy. I don't think it came off as such, but Dad wasn't one to question slight weirdness. "Be right down!"

            I have to admit. Ten years later, years of experience in dire combat... and my dad's driving **still** scares the daylights out of me. I clung to my seat in the back of the RV for dear life as the tank-like vehicle darted in and out of traffic. How he had never actually crashed the thing I do not know. How does one even get a vehicle on tank treads to lift one side in the air going around a corner? Luckily he slowed down as we pulled into the parking lot of the otherwise deserted Nasty Burger, so I felt safe enough undoing my belt and standing behind my parents in the front of the vehicle.

            Mr. Lancer was neatly framed by the RV's headlights as we pulled up, briefcase in one hand, a pamphlet of papers in the other. Ah, that would be my test. He looked extremely displeased, the headlights casting harsh shadows off his angular face. I smirked to myself. He could be as displeased with me as he wanted. He would be past tense in... a quick glance at the dashboard clock read just a hair after five o'clock, so in about fifteen more minutes.

            "Mr. Lancer sounded urgent on the phone." Maddie sounded concerned as the RV came to a halt. I suppose it only made sense she would be concerned. Teachers seldom call for a parent-teacher meeting for anything but bad news. "Danny, is something wrong?"

            I grinned, looking from my parents to the ruined building. In fifteen more minutes, the tanks full of Nasty Sauce would go off. The final countdown on all those lives was drawing rapidly to an end.

            "Not _yet_."


	15. Defeat

**Finale - Defeat  
**

            We all climbed out of the RV, and I resisted the urge to praise being safe on solid ground again. Yes, my father's driving _is_ that frightening. The displeased look on the bald teacher's face intensified as the three of us walked over. Everyone else would be showing up any minute, and soon it would all be over and I could go back to the future.

            "Mister and Missus Fenton, Daniel, this is the Nasty Burger." The teacher stated as we walked over. "When people fail, _this_ is where they end up."

            I tuned his droning out, studying the half-demolished fast food place. The evening was cool, but not cold, and the weather was just as I had remembered it being ten years ago. There were thin clouds overhead, the air smelled faintly of a storm waiting to break. How perfectly dramatic, really. There _had_ been a scattering of showers that night ten years ago I had spent wandering lost in my old house.

            "Whether they fail because they don't study-" Mr. Lancer flashed my test at my parents, tone heavy with the accusation. "-or because they _cheated_."

            Just as I remember it happening. Except Jazz had yet to appear. In my recollection of events, she had come along to the meeting for some reason. I suppose because she had known all along that I'd filched the test answers. I was certain she would appear soon however, in a last-ditch attempt at stopping me. My parents both gasped in mixed surprise and horror at the revelation. Their sweet, shy Danny, _cheating_ on an exam! Unheard of!

            "Danny!" My father looked down at me, his expression stern. Funny, that expression was usually reserved for his paranoid delusions about ghosts. "Is this true?"

            Maddie's expression was far more gentle, a sort of extreme disappointment. "Did you _cheat_?"

            My friends would be there any moment to protest the accusation. There should be some scattered arguing for a few minutes. And then... boom.

            "You have to get out of here!"

            Wait, _what_? Everyone, myself included, spun at the sound of Sam's near-panicked cry. Was she going to oppose her fate like Jazz had? Sam was joined by Tucker, my two friends pelting toward the gathering as fast as their teenage legs could carry them.

            "The Nasty Burger is gonna blow!" Tucker waved his arms for emphasis, his panic very nearly tangible as he delivered his dire news. "And we're **_THREE FEET_ FROM IT!** "

            " _South Beach Diet, people!_ " Lancer barked out, clearly displeased by the interruption. Hah, I bet he thought it was a ploy by my two friends to distract him from my cheating. What was the deal with the book titles, anyway? I always thought it was ridiculous. "What's going on here?"

            "I'll tell you what's going on!" Well, my entire plan seemed to be thrown for a loop now. I spun, a surprised look on my face at my sister's declaration. She was suited up in the Fenton Peeler already. Stupid! I should have smashed that dumb gadget earlier. "Or better yet, _show_ you!"

            She cut an imposing silhouette in the armor, I'll admit. Jazz fired at me before I could evade, so I braced for the impact, not knowing exactly what might happen. I remember what the Fenton Peeler did to Spectra, but really, seeing it and feeling it are two _entirely_ different things. The best I could describe it as would be comparable to someone taking a red-hot razor and slicing a million microscopic gashes from head to toe all at once. And then rubbing salt and lemon juice in each and every one. Repeatedly. In short, it was **not** pleasant. I very nearly cried out from the sensation as I felt my disguise breaking apart and being ripped from me.

            I fell over backwards from the force of it, momentarily stunned. Did I mention that thing _hurt_? I got myself turned over, down on all fours amid the burned out remnants of my disguise, eyes clamped shut in a grimace. That stupid thing had hurt more than any of Valerie's weapons. And worse, my cover was now thoroughly blown. It couldn't possibly be a simple case of re-enacting events from ten years ago. I would have to take more drastic steps to ensure everyone who was supposed to die met their right and proper fate. I suppose it fits, I still consider those deaths my fault, this would leave little doubt to the truth of that.

            "That's **not** Danny!" Jazz declared.

            I heard footsteps immediately followed by the high pitched whine of compact ecto-guns charging up on either side of me. Oh, how quaint was this?

            "Where is he?" My father demanded over the sound of his gun. Wow, he sounded angry. More than I could ever recall him being. Perhaps the idiot had some parental instincts after all? "Where's our son?"

            If it was possible, Maddie sounded even more upset, her voice pitched higher in anger. "What have you done to our boy?"

            I had often wondered how my parents would react to my identity. Sometimes in my weakness I would lie awake at night, imagining how I would reveal myself to them. I must have run through countless scenarios, ranging from simply transforming right in front of them to accidentally changing back to human form in the middle of a fight. Their responses ranged equally as wildly, from outright acceptance to abject horror to open hostility. Funny, none of those old fictional scenarios ever came _close_ to the real one that was about to play out.

            I laughed where I still stood hunched on the ground, gathering my thoughts before I flashed my dear mother a wide, fanged grin. How I had longed in my weakness to do away with such agonizing secrets! "I **_am_** your boy!"

            Her expression was positively priceless, horror and utter disbelief in equal measure, purple eyes very nearly the size of dinner plates. She recoiled almost as if I'd slapped her, the maternal anger in her stance instantly replaced with revulsion and confusion. " ** _What?_** "

            "What kind of parents _are_ you, anyway?" I growled, springing off the ground and into the air. Even I was mildly surprised by my own level of hostility toward the both of them. Honestly, how many times _had_ they pointed guns at me in my weakness? "The world's leading _ghost experts_ and you can't figure out that your own **son** was _half-ghost_!"

            "For the record-" My dad exchanged brief, worried glances with Maddie as they stood there, weapons aimed at me. "-I blame you."

            " _Hello!_ Danny _Fenton_. Danny **Phantom**. Ever notice the similarity?" I sneered, glancing back at Jazz, bristling with rage where she stood. I think she might have been more angry about things than my parents. Then again, she had already known my secrets for some time now, and wasn't dealing with that same shock. "Jazz did."

            " **Liar!** " My dad snarled, aiming his gun at my face. "Don't move!"

            "Actually..." My grin turned to a scowl as I prepared my attack. "Nobody's going _anywhere_. Not until it's time for you to be _blown_ **everywhere**."

            It was simple enough, really. An arcing blast of energy, another variation on the binding field I'd used on Sam and Tucker. My parents had no chance to get any shots off with their useless toy guns before the wide beam caught the entire group and pinned them against the sauce tanks. Not precisely the subtle approach, but then the time for subtlety had long since passed. They had to die in the explosion, through any means necessary. A series of small beams later, their screaming was silenced, terrified eyes on me as I drifted toward the ground. There would be no help coming from any unexpected quarter.

            I heard metallic footfalls behind me, the slight clinking noise of armor and the hiss of displaced air. How quaint, Jazz was trying to get me from behind, was she? I didn't dodge, at least not in the traditional sense. I glanced down, smirking as I saw the armored fist appear through my chest, the blow completely unimpeded as I simply opened a gap in the middle of my torso.

            "Nice try, Jazz." I complimented her, not even looking back at her as she gasped in horror and withdrew her arm. I reformed the gap, I imagine she had a wide-eyed look of horror not entirely unlike the one Maddie had given me just moments prior. "But me? My future?"

            It hurt slightly to do it, but I twisted my head completely around to face Jazz, verifying the slack-jawed look of fear on my sister's face. Who would have thought the long-dead clone girl would have proven so useful in the long run? Jazz's eyes widened as I turned the rest of myself around to face her properly. "I'm _inevitable_."

            Jazz was still trying to gird her courage to continue to fight, but I wouldn't permit her the chance. She'd interfered more than enough with my plan. I quickly spawned a duplicate on either side of her, within a moment the three of me had her surrounded. Jazz had no hoping of taking on _one_ of me with only the Fenton Peeler, let alone _three_.

            I chuckled as I yanked the helmet off her head, letting her long red locks spill down, the ends flapping like a torn flag in the wind. How appropriate really, that the late summer storm was going to break shortly after the explosion. My sister screamed long and loud, a desperate ploy to call attention to the otherwise deserted area. Well, couldn't let that keep up, so I also gagged her the way I had everyone else.

            It was purely showing off, I freely admit. All three of me jumped into the air and reunited into a single self, and I quickly roped Jazz, pinning her arms against her sides. No more use of the Peeler's weapon, that much was certain. I probably gave her a good case of whiplash as I slammed her up against the sauce tank next to Maddie, her back hitting the metal surface with a loud clank.

            That was it then. I would float there and watch the explosion go off, just like ten years ago, though the specifics had changed. No thanks to Clockwork's meddling, at least. I considered hanging around in the past just long enough to ensure that my weakness, when he was returned to the proper time period, would go to Wisconsin and go through with the operation that had given rise to my existence. I would take the gauntlets and rip my weakness and the cheesehead in half _myself_ if I had to.

            "Hey old man!"

            Wait, that voice-! I spun, an angry scowl immediately on my face, my previous laughter halted. What was _he_ doing back? How had he escaped the Ghost Zone, and how had he gotten rid of that medallion? He came diving out of the low cloud deck, all his momentum in his fists as he came tearing toward me at full speed.

            "Ready for a blast from your past?"

            I didn't get a chance to get out of the way, my past self slammed into me with enough force to send me flying several hundred feet through the air with a displeased grunt. I recovered control of my trajectory nearly two miles away, thoroughly displeased. How was he back? What good did he think he could do? I'd readily beaten him once before, twice counting when I first shed my weakness ten years ago. Was that foolish child going to try to stop me now and erase my future? I snarled a curse and took off for the Nasty Burger. The tanks were going to explode in a matter of minutes, I could _not_ permit my weakness a chance to save them.

            When I got back within sight of the place, he was floating too close to them. I hissed a wordless curse and shot off one of those binding energy beams even as I flew toward the scene, snaring my weakness around the torso and hauling him safely away from our friends and family. He yelped in surprise as I tugged him near and grabbed him roughly by the front of his jumpsuit.

            "What are you gonna do? Waste me?" He snarled, matching my glare with a nearly identical one of his own, fearless in the face of my wrath. "What happens to _you_ then?"

            "You don't get it, do you?" I glowered, slowly smiling. He thought I was going to take him out? Tempting as it was, I knew as well as he did that would _not_ be an option. Clearly he hadn't considered the other option, the one I was basing my entire plan on. " **I'm** still here. **I** still exist."

            If what I was saying had any effect on my weakness, he didn't show it. If anything, his glare intensified as I continued. Really, what _could_ he do? All I had to do was keep him occupied for a few more minutes, and then it would all end in that fateful explosion. The only difference now was that he would get to witness it first-hand, and revel in his additional uselessness, because there was simply no way he could stop me.

            "That means _you_ still turn into **me**." I very nearly purred that fact to him before I hauled back with my free hand and punched him hard in the stomach.

            Were he not in ghost form at the time, I'm certain the blow would have shattered ribs and punctured vital organs. Instead, it merely sent him flying down the street. He hit a light pole roughly a block down with enough force to very nearly bend the thing, his backpack falling off from the impact. ... Backpack? He didn't have one when I saw him in my present day. What was he doing with one now? No matter, it was mere trivia in the long run.

            "I don't have to _waste_ you." I taunted from the air as my weakness struggled to shake off his daze below. "I just have to run out the clock until your _entire_ life falls apart."

            A quick glance in the direction of the Nasty Burger indicated it was close to time. From above I could see faint blasts of steam and smoke. The sauce tanks were getting hot enough, the pressure was building to the point they were beginning to fail. Soon, so soon, and it would be over, the memories relegated to oblivion where they desperately belonged!

            I shouted and dove, ready to pound on that useless child. Just enough to keep him busy until the explosion. That was all I needed to do. To my annoyance however, he phased intangible into the ground, my blow sheered the light post off instead as I aborted my dive and arced back into the air, glancing around. Where was he? If he was underground, he could be almost anywhere, about to attack from any angle. He couldn't do much, but I had no wish to leave anything to even slight chance.

            "Maybe if you'd remembered  more about your _family_ -" His voice taunted me from somewhere nearby, though over the increasing wind and ominous creaking from the Nasty Burger I couldn't pin down the precise location. "-you'd have remembered the Specter Deflector!"

            How in the world did he get _that_? He must have ambushed me from almost directly below, because the brat got beneath and behind me, clacking the device into place around my waist. As soon as he _mentioned_ that accursed gadget, I should have  moved. I knew from memory what the blasted thing felt like!

            I would be hard pressed to say which hurt worse: having my earlier disguise ripped apart by the Fenton Peeler, or the intense, nearly paralyzing shock coursing through me from the Specter Deflector. I yelled out in pain, nearly biting my tongue in the process. That thing _hurt_ , perhaps even worse than what I remember it doing to the cheesehead in the past.

            "Or the Ghost Gauntlets!" I barely heard him over the agony and electrical cracking. How had he gotten those? Were I not otherwise occupied, I would have scowled at the obvious answer. The cheesehead must have helped him, or perhaps Valerie. Even through time, they continued to plague me. Instead, I received a metallic punch to the gut, clearly payback for earlier that sent me reeling.

            I slammed into something hollow and metallic with a brief cry, the impact lessening the Deflector's shocks. I felt something wet and greasy against the back of my neck, and took note of the broken but round metal shell I had punched through. What had I... wait, that smelled like oil, a heavy reek. And my hair was in close contact with the flammable substance.

            The explosion didn't actually hurt, per se. The flames barely scorched my jumpsuit, but it _was_ uncomfortable. It was to my advantage however, my weakness chose rather badly when he sent me careening into the oil tanker. The heat and several shards of shrapnel struck the anti-ghost belt, further weakening the device. I couldn't hear anything over the roaring flames around me, but I got to my feet and staggered out of the inferno.

            There he was, walking away as though it was over! I ripped the now largely useless Deflector off, the clasp breaking easily. My past self didn't notice, dropping those stupid gauntlets as he prepared to take off. Hah, Danny Phantom to the _rescue_. There would be no thwarting fate! I ignored the still-burning bits of oil clinging to my suit as I darted forward and caught him with one hand around his scrawny arm.

            He gasped, caught clearly off-guard by the attack from behind. Stupid, pathetic fool, letting his guard down so easily against his superior! I flung him backwards hard enough to shatter a human arm in at least three places, but he only cried out from surprise, a pained grunt upon impact with the ground.

            "Your time is up Danny." I loomed above him, scowling. It was the first time I had actually addressed my weakness by name since... well, since I came into my present existence, really. He gawked as I duplicated myself, I was through playing around with the brat. "It's been up for _ten years_."

            He tried desperately to roll out of the way, but he was too slow, and ate all four punches, yelping from the impacts and the asphalt digging into his back. Too easy! One of me caught hold of his ankle and lobbed him into the air, where I proceeded to spike him like a volleyball into the side of a nearby building. He yelped again as his impact sent a spiderweb of cracks running through the wall he'd hit.

            "I won't let you hurt them!" He yelled as he took to the air, firing ectoblasts wildly at all four of me.

            " _I'm_ not going to _hurt_ them." I retorted, one of me knocking him off balance with a blast of my own, opening a break in his volley.

            "I'm going to ensure they _die_ because of your incompetence!" I came up from beneath him, a punch to the face causing him to cry out as I also came at him from above, kicking him hard in the jaw.

            "No you _won't_!" He wailed, voice cracking on the declaration. Ah, he had to know that time was rapidly running out. He must have been trying hard not to panic, not to break like the little boy he was. Not even our battle with Pariah to save the city all those years ago had come with such a dire consequence for failure.

            "You can't stop me." I growled. He managed to dodge my punch, but I had to laugh as he dodged right into the blast one of my other selves had fired at him, anticipating the maneuver. "You couldn't ten years ago, and you won't now."

            "I _will_! I _have_ to!" He cried, a blast sending one of me crashing into another. It didn't do much in the way of damage, but it was grating how much of a fight he was putting up.

            "What do you think you can do?" I sneered, two of me grabbing him by the arms while one punched him in the back and the other blasted him in the front. "It's almost time, any moment that sauce is going to detonate, and they'll all be _dead_."

            " ** _NO!_** " Amazingly enough, he broke my hold and sent all four of me flying with his outburst. I could see it was short-lived though. He was very nearly through, my future all but guaranteed.

            "This is _over_." I declared in four-way stereo, moving into position to end his feeble resistance.

            He was badly winded now, and all out of tricks and gadgets to try and use on me. Grinning, I surrounded him, four ecto beams whirling about him and striking from all angles. He screamed as my blasts ripped into him, and when I was done, he fell nigh-senseless to the ground, scorched and battered. It had been difficult to stop short of knocking him out or killing him. He represented everything I despised. My weakness, my uselessness ten years ago. I _hated_ him. But no, he _was_ still _my_ past, so for now he had to live.

            All four of me landed nearby, taking a few steps to close the remaining distance to my fallen opponent. I fused the four of me back together, scowling down at him. "What makes you think you can change _my_ past?"

            After all, I still existed, it was clear I would have to succeed, that he had lost. He had two minutes left at most before the explosion. Time was up, there was no way he could stop me and save them all, beaten as he was. Sam, Maddie, and the rest of them were about to die before his eyes. It would be the second time I bore witness to the tragedy, and while I _could_ have prevented it, I was not willing to take such a gamble with my existence. Better their lives than mine.

            "Because..." He growled, struggling up onto his hands and knees, defiance clear in his eyes when he forced them open again to glare daggers at me. "I promised my family."

            I howled with laughter at the intense sincerity in his statement. Promises? Hah, Valerie had shown me well enough ten years ago how much promises were worth. Hardly worth the breath required to utter them, the useless things. What good was his useless little _promise_ going to do him against me?

            "Oh, you are such a _child_!" I sneered, putting as much mocking sarcasm into my words as possible as he struggled to get upright. "You **_promised_** _?_ "

            " _Yes._ " He scowled, his sheer bullheadedness driving him to his feet to face me again. "I **PROMISED**!"

            I think _my_ eyes were nearly the size of dinner plates the instant I recognized his stance, legs braced, fists clenched, chest forward from a deep intake of breath. I knew it was coming before the first shockwave even hit me, my mind reeling. I didn't get a chance to even raise a shield against the attack, the short sonic burst powerful enough to blow me clean off my feet and hurl me several dozen yards. I yelped when I hit the ground, my momentum making me dig a fifty foot trench in the asphalt with my back.

            "That power-!" I gasped around my shock. There was no way this could be happening! I groaned as I tried to coax my limbs into action again. "It's **not** possible, I don't get that power until _ten years_ from now!"

            "I guess..." I watched, still too stunned to move as he flew over and landed nearby, cringing and clutching at his injured midsection. There was pure disgust in his tone and expression when he continued."The future isn't as set in stone as you _think_ it is."

            How could this be? It took me ten years to acquire that power, how was it possible for him to obtain it in such a short time? Surely if he had the Ghostly Wail when we first fought, he would have used it then. No, he had to have developed it sometime between my throwing him into the Ghost Zone and his stubborn return to the past. But how? _How_? And how was he strong enough to use it twice in a row? Even I had to wait some little while in between using it! Where was he drawing all that extra strength from?

            Those questions were quickly forgotten as I was caught in his second Ghostly Wail, this one a sustained blast and far more powerful than the first. I at least had enough time to _try_ to brace for the assault, but I shouldn't have even bothered. The sound of shattering, exploding glass was a faint accompaniment to the hideous wailing, the sound and sheer power of the attack several orders of magnitude above and beyond what the clone girl had hit me with. To my disgust, I was flung through the air like a rag doll, helpless in the wake of the awful noise. It was an assault on all my senses, the shockwave causing havoc with my equilibrium, the noise deafening, the power absolutely devastating though restricted in radius.

            The attack eventually tapered off, slamming me with wall-shattering force into a building a few hundred feet away. I lay stunned in a pile of debris, dazed for only a moment before a large car... was that a Ginormo 6000? I hadn't seen one of those in years. Anyway, seconds after my impact, the car slammed into the building, punching a much larger hole in the walls and slamming into me before I could gather the wit to turn intangible. I may not have seen one in years, but I got an unpleasantly up close and personal introduction to one. Adding further insult to injury, the structural damage from my impact and the vehicle brought the entire thing crashing down on my head.

            I growled as I struggled to dig myself out of the mess, still addle-witted enough to prevent me from taking the simple approach of phasing through the debris. If I didn't know he was out of time, I would have been less stunned and more enraged by the surprise turn of events. It was over, and I had won! I finally marshaled the coordination to punch up through the concrete and brick debris, clutching at my ribs in a cruel mockery of my weakness. My suit was in tatters, and I was more soundly thrashed than I had been in several years. By my _weakness_!

            "Well, that's _it_ , isn't it?" I growled when I spotted him, fallen to his hands and knees, reverted back to human form. That _was_ it, he had to have run himself completely out of power on that final attack. There was no way he could save anybody, and certainly no way _I_ could have if I'd had such a traitorous thought. It was thoroughly displeasing to think that I was in very nearly the same physical condition as my weakness.

            He caught sight of me, an enraged look on his exhausted face as he reached for a silver something latched to his belt. I belatedly realized what it was, a Fenton Thermos, the business end of it pointed right at me. "Time's up!"

            I had no strength to dodge, the brilliant blue beam catching me full on and immediately starting to pull me in. "Too weak to escape-!" I gasped, putting everything I had left in trying to break free of the beam, to no avail. Fine, he had won the battle, but the war was _mine_! "And you're _too late_ to save them!"

            Despite my best efforts, I was pulled shouting into the thermos, stuffed inside with no physical form, the only light coming in through the aperture of the thermos quickly cut off when my past self slammed the lid on. I was trapped, blind and senseless, struggling with no power.

            Well, I certainly hadn't planned on _this_. I thought I distantly heard the explosion and the agonized cry of my weakness through the thermos, though it could have been my imagination. That _had_ to be the outcome, there was simply no possible way he could have saved them in time. I growled soundlessly as I struggled against the thermos and its grip on me, but it would be some time before I recovered my strength after that battle.

\---

            Ten years of power, ten years of absolute freedom, is it all to come to this? Clockwork said that I had failed, that my weakness would go on to a different future. No, I don't believe it. He cannot succeed; I couldn't, why should he? Revenge, yes, there was still that. I would get out of here and take my revenge. Then I'll return to _my_ future and finish my remaining business there. Valerie still draws breath, an ongoing problem I still need to rectify.

            "You manipulated the boy! You influenced his choice!" I listen intently to the new voice, it sounds pretentious. Some ghost who I would need to rip apart when I get out of here, I suppose.

            "That's a direct violation of the Protocol of Temporal Displacement!" A second voice, deeper than the first, but carrying that same attitude. How quaint, it seems Clockwork has guests, and my weakness is the subject of their indignant babbling.

            "In other words, _you cheated_!" They both declare in unison as I listen in. Ugh, if I wasn't trapped right now, I would gladly rip them apart along with Clockwork. The time master was quite good at his _cheating_ , I learned this the hard way. How much _had_ I been unwittingly used in his plans? I suspect now I had been manipulated quite a bit for the past decade. Surely I had been used as a tool to take Pariah out, and to scare my weakness to adhere to his misguided path of righteousness and his foolish heroics.

            "True, I cheated." And of course, there's Clockwork. I can hear him more clearly, I think he's holding this stupid thermos. "But I assure you, his choice was his own."

            "You realize the boy is your responsibility now." The more annoying of the two declares.

            "As is his evil self, now that he exists outside of time." The deeper-voiced one adds. Hah, they want evil, do they? I'll be happy to show them their perception of _evil_ when I escape here! They don't know my reasons, my cause. I completely destroyed the ghost king, supposedly the most powerful of all the ghosts. These whiners would be nothing in comparison! When I get loose, I'll make them pay; I'll make _him_ pay for everything, for leaving me trapped in this maddening black void, he will _suffer_.

            "I know." I hear Clockwork declare in that infuriating tone of his. "But then, I know _everything_."

            I almost yelp in my prison when a clang resounds loudly through this black void, my prison must have been set down. I renew my struggles, already feeling some miniscule progress being made, dents slowly forming, future points of fracture. Valerie must have given my weakness the stupid thermos. How ironic, really. Ten years of fighting me, all her weapons absolutely useless, and the witch _still_ wins in the end.

            I _will_ get out of here, mark my words. I can already feel my prison slowly breaking apart from my efforts. I laugh with the thought. Yes, I will get out of here, and I will not hold back. If my existence no longer depends on my weakness, well, then I guess I'm free to rip him apart like I did to my human self all those years ago in the cheesehead's lab. Yes, I will _enjoy_ that. Hah, I'll get out of here soon enough.

            It's only a matter of _time_.

**Author's Note:**

> For folks who read the original iteration forever ago, either on FFN, my DevArt, or on the old Danny Phantom Online Community forums, hi again! For newcomers who haven't previously come across "the saga," buckle in for a long one! Anathema is the second of the four multi-chapter fanfics focusing on the future timeline from The Ultimate Enemy.


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